A Demon's Spirit
by Riku54-Vincent's Demon
Summary: Chrno had left Rosette for two years without saying anything to her at all, not telling her that he had left. When she finds him once more, how is she supposed to react to that? And in the shadows, a new enemy lurks...unseen and unnoticed. CXRXOC
1. Haunted by Memories

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CHRNO CRUSADE_-A DEMON'S SPIRIT

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_**A gentle breeze swept over the field. It was unnoticed by the only inhabitance of the field, a young boy with long purple hair. His eyes were closed and his face was peaceful in sleep. The night sky towered above him, stars shining brightly, guiding those who were lost in the dark. A half moon shed its soft light on the boy, but brought him no warmth. In his sleep, the boy stirred, turning over. his friend, Rosette, had told him that long ago before he had left her, afraid his own powers and what he might do with them. He had once killed her by making a contract with her. It had not been purposeful, but the boy still blamed himself. Two years had past since the chaos had ended and he had not seen her smiling face once in that time. Only in his memories and dreams, which he clung to and guarded so heavily, instead of forgetting like he once had. he asked the young Rosette in his dream. 

She looked over at him, the soft smile on her face vanishing for a moment. Rosette seemed to be in deep thought as she looked down at her hands, wondering, no, asking herself how to answer him. After a few long seconds, she opened her mouth and spoke, _"…Well, yes…I uh…hmm…What do you mean by that? Just who are you talking about?"_ she suddenly snapped, becoming herself once more.

He turned away from her, and turned to look up at the stars, his red eyes glowing and reflecting the silver heavens above. A calm had settled over his soul, allowing no emotion past his consciousness. He was aware of everything like usual once more, and not lost in terrible memories. _"Me,"_

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1. Haunted by Memories 

Red eyes fluttered open slowly as another wind brushed by. His usually braided hair was down and trailing out around him and hugging close to his slim figure as he sat up. "Rosette…" he whispered the name softly, a hint of everlasting pain in his voice. Chrno dug his fingers into the soft grass around him, savoring the image of the young woman in his mind. He knew she was older now and so he had no way of knowing if she had changed, or even if she was with the Order anymore. He had avoided the Order for so long, not wanting to see Rosette.

Chrno knew that if he did, he would not be able to leave her a second time. The first time, it had hurt so much and so bad that he feared he would go back to New York and find her. After all, she did not know what had become of him. He had left without telling her. He had left saying good-bye to a sleeping figure and none of the Order had seen him since. He now lived in a place where towns are spread out and distant. Everybody knows everybody and recognizes strangers, but does nothing about them as long as they aren't a threat to their society. He was now living with a low profile in Tennessee. Somewhere he believed Rosette would never think to look for him, somewhere he could hide from the truth that he had done her so much harm as to kill her. Not again, no, he would never do something so terrifyingly horrible like that again.

Chrno finally stood, the moonlight casting its guiding light on his body. But Chrno turned his back from the moon and began to trek towards the nearest town, deciding he would eat some late dinner and then go out and practice his fighting skills for a while. Even though he had fled from his past and memories, just as he had done fifty-six years ago, he continued to fight demons and monsters, not wanting to draw attention to the Order. Though somewhere in the back of Chrno's mind, he knew they would someday come here to the peaceful side of Tennessee that was covered in mountains all the way up to North Carolina.

Word would get out that someone was killing all the demons and monsters there, and they would find him. Sighing, he quickened his pace to the small town, wanting to rid himself of the thoughts that had haunted him for the past two years. He had been lucky, escaping the prying eyes that were all over the country in the most unexpected places. But that luck would run out. Even though Chrno had obtained both of his horns back, he chose to remain looking human, but no longer did he look sixteen. He looked older. Like he had with Magdalena, he looked just the same except with longer hair. His demon form, however, never changed and so it remained the same-_he_ remained the same.

Before long, he came upon the town. Streetlights were on and a few house lights here and there. Only one car was driving in the street. Chrno watched in silence as it turned into the nearest diner and parked. A young woman around her twenties got out of the car, followed by a younger woman with beautiful silver-white hair, who nearly the same age as the other woman. He disregarded them as new comers considering he had never seen them before. Chrno was curious, but he wouldn't allow himself to become close to anyone anymore. Anyone he ever made friends with got hurt. He wouldn't let that happen now.

Walking into the diner, Chrno looked around and spotted a seat. He headed towards it, taking long, quick strides. When he was in front of it, he sat down in one of the seats and waited for the waitress to come by. Sitting there, waiting he glanced at the few people in the all-night diner. The two women that had just come in were a few tables down. The silver haired girl was facing him, while the other had her back to him. He noticed, now in the light that the older woman had blonde hair that shone under the dull orange-yellow light that the lights on the ceiling gave off.

Now as he looked closer at the two, they looked strangely familiar…Suddenly something Chrno's mind clicked. He knew who those two were. It was Azmaria! And the other woman had to be…no…Chrno's red eyes widened in horror. How had they found him? How had Rosette found him? Shifting in his seat, he looked away from them, determined not to show them he was there. Maybe it was just an odd coincidence. Or maybe not…Giving the two women another quick look, he noticed they were speaking. With his better sense of hearing, he was able to pick up on their conversation.

-

Rosette sat down in the chair, sighing with exhaustion. Looking over at Azmaria, she put her head down on the table and spoke in a bored and tired tone, "So…we're here and now what're we supposed to do?" she yawned widely, glancing around. There weren't many people in the diner, just a few. Her eyes landed on one lone figure nearby. He was covered by shadows and so it was hard to see his face. But then, she realized she wouldn't be able to anyway. He was turned away from her. Rosette swallowed roughly, thinking that he looked so familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen him before.

"Well, for one, we're getting something to eat," Azmaria replied with a smile. "And then we'll find a place to stay for the night here. Next we're supposed to contact Remington and tell him we're here-we were supposed to do that first…but seeing as _you_ had to spend most of our money, we'll use it to buy food. Then we'll find some money-eh?" Azmaria peered closer at her friend and noticed that Rosette was fast asleep. "Rosette?"

"Can I get you anything?" a kind voice asked from beside Azmaria. The young woman turned in her seat to see the waitress looking at her with a gentle smile.

"Yes please, we'd just like a hotdog and maybe Rosette needs a coffee-as you can see-she fell asleep on me," Azmaria laughed nervously, feeling uncomfortable in such a new place that was away from everyone else. The waitress nodded and replied, glancing at Rosette, "Alright, I'll get your order in just as soon as I get the next few people's orders filled out,"

The waitress walked over to another table. Azmaria watched her go with a sigh, but she stopped quickly, her eyes widening. For a second there, she could have sworn she had seen…no, her eyes had to be playing tricks on her. He was gone, and more than likely dead…she hadn't seen him in two years-and nor had anyone else, not even Rosette, who was still heartbroken over the matter of his leaving her without even a good-bye.

Looking away from the waitress, Azmaria looked at Rosette. She raised her hand off the table and rested in on her sleeping companion's shoulder. She shook Rosette, saying, "Rosette, wake up-I just ordered for us,"

"Chrno…" Rosette mumbled in her seat, burying her head further into her arms. Azmaria sighed once more. Even now, after two whole years, Rosette had not let him go, but even as Rosette suffered everyday, Azmaria knew that the exorcist believed that Chrno was gone forever, dead. But Azmaria also knew how hard it was to let go of someone you cared deeply for. Often she had see Rosette with her brother, obviously trying to forget Chrno, knowing it would only hurt her worse with every thought.

-

When Chrno had ordered his meal, he retreated to the shadows once more, determined not to let anyone see him. So, he knew now that Rosette and Azmaria had been called in for duty, but for what, he didn't know, and he knew they still worked for the Order. Though Chrno had never expected Rosette to leave the Order anyway. Looking out the window, he saw the dark shadows the reined over night cast upon the quiet town. As Chrno looked outside, he noted the sudden lack of stars and the cover of the moon. It was going to rain soon, that much was clear.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a flash of lightning flared across the sky. Through the brilliant blue-white light and the light sprinkle that had followed, Chrno noticed a lone figure standing in front of the diner, across the street. The figure had a clock on and was hidden in the shadows. _'Odd…'_ he thought, his red eyes narrowing. He had never seen this person before. _'Could he be some demon in disguise? Could this be why Rosette and Azmaria had been called out to a place like this? Or is that…'_ Chrno shook the thought from his head. No, it couldn't be, he hadn't seen one in such a long time…but it there was always possibilities that the clocked figure outside was a Pursuer disguised as a human, or hiding its demonly features from everyone.

Looking away from the window, Chrno knew that he would not be able to stay out of town on a night like this. It wasn't so much that storms bothered him, it was just that if he got soaked in cold rainwater and stayed out all night, he was likely to get sick. Sighing at the predicament, he wondered if he was fated to meet Rosette again.

Shrugging the thought off, he pulled the dark cloak he now wore closer to himself. Chrno reached up to brush away purple strands of hair from his eyes just as the waitress returned with his order. She sat the plate before him and nodded in greeting. He gave her a small smile back and handed her the money that he knew he owed, but said nothing as she carried the other plates to another table.

Just as Chrno picked up the fork that had been left on his plate so that he could eat the spaghetti he had ordered, he noticed that the waitress had gone to Rosette's and Azmaria's table. Azmaria had a frantic look on her face. He heard her muttering, "Where's our money?" to herself. "Rosette! Get up! I think you have our money!"

"Huh? Wha's the matter?" Rosette mumbled, her voice drowsy with sleep. She lifted her head up to see the waitress looking at them expectantly. She had set the plates down on the table, along with the coffee, but was holding out her hand. Chrno had been going to this diner for so long, that he had learned the night waitress rarely spoke to anyone except newcomers. When he had first come in, that was the first and the last time she had spoken to him, obviously requiring he knew what he wanted before she came.

"I can't find our money!" Azmaria snapped a little sharply as she dug through her pockets. This seemed to wake Rosette up. "You lost our money?" she growled, clearly not in a good mood. "Now how are we supposed to contact Minister Remington? Hm?"

Chrno rolled his eyes, holding back a laugh at Rosette's tone. By the looks of it, she would fall over asleep any second now. Just as he was about to return to eating and forget about them, he found himself speaking aloud, "I'll pay for it," As the words escaped his lips, Chrno immediately regretted it because all three of them turned to look at him. He turned away.

"Hm, you two turned out lucky that someone like him would pay for it. Surprised he even spoke to someone two broke and lowly women like yourself," the waitress glowered. She was clearly not happy.

Chrno felt his blood begin to boil at the insults directed towards his friends. For a moment, he thought about saying something back, but instead, he took out the money from his pocket and counted up ten dollars. He sat it on the edge of the table, never looking up at them. "Keep your damn change and shut your mouth, that is not how your treat people with money or no money at all," he hissed through clenched teeth. As he thought about it, Chrno reflected that the waitress was lucky Rosette was half sleep; otherwise she might bite her head off.

"Thanks…um…who are you?" Rosette asked through half closed eyes. She got up to walk over to him, but sat back down instead, deciding that she'd rather just sit there and go to sleep. Chrno smiled sadly at her innocent question. So she didn't recognize him, but maybe come morning, she would remember him and realize who he was.

"Just someone who lives around here," he replied slowly, picking up his fork once more. He overlooked the waitress as she snatched the ten-dollar bill off the table and stalked off. All the while Chrno could feel a pair of eyes on him, but he knew very well they weren't Rosette's-no, she was too busy eating her hotdog and gulping down her coffee to pay attention to him, satisfied with the knowledge that he was a 'stranger'. No, those pair of eyes did not belong to Azmaria either. She was looking at Rosette with a surprised look on her face.

The eyes that looked at him so intently were the ones that belonged to the cloaked figure who stood out in the rain, watching, waiting, and not moving. Within a few seconds, Chrno came to understand that the person outside was indeed someone who was not looking to do good in the world. He wasn't sure what it was, or if it was even human, but he sensed the evil, but not the demonic aura he usually sensed around demons, so this person outside was not a demon. So what was it?

Finishing his meal rather quickly, Chrno stood up, careful to keep his face hidden from Azmaria and Rosette, hurried out of the diner. But just as he turned to open the door, he glanced back at Rosette. She had finished everything on her plate and was looking around with curiosity. His hard red eyes softened for a few seconds, and then, he turned and left, leaving the person that had been watching him to stand in the steadily increasing rain. Chrno headed towards a hotel, wanting to reach one fast.

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Okay, here's an explination for my lack of knowledge: I've only read Volumes 1-5 and parts of 6. Val is helping me out cause she's read all of them-so, sorry if I have anything incorrect, if I do, I'll try and make up for it in Chapter 2. 


	2. Demon, Exorcist, and Apostle

**2. Demon, Exorcist, and Apostle**

Chrno found the inn within a matter of moments. Yanking the door open, he stumbled inside, dripping with rainwater. Thunder rang through his slightly pointed ears that indicated he was a demon to those who knew the signs. The clerk at the desk was fast asleep, but Chrno went up to her anyway. Not wanting to startle her, he nudged her a little. Within an instant, the clerk was awake, straightening her glasses. "Eh? Oh, sorry. I guess I fell asleep on the job. Are you wanting to stay for the night?" the clerk asked him, taking out a book and grabbing a pen.

Chrno nodded. "Okay, I need your name,"

"My name is Chrno," he replied quietly over another roar of thunder. The clerk nodded and scribbled a few more things down. While she was doing this, Chrno grabbed the extra money he kept in his pocket out. He had earned a good deal of money he used only on necessary items.

"Okay, well, Mr. Chrno, here is your key and your room number is room 51 on your right. And your pay is fifteen dollars," the clerk told him, smiling at him, but Chrno knew she was very tired. He gave her the required amount and took his key and headed off to his room. As he walked down the hall, he heard the opening of a door. Turning around, he saw Azmaria and Rosette walking in. Maybe fate was telling him that he was supposed to join them once again, but the image of Rosette being in pain and even dead played through his mind once more, and so he turned away and entered his room in silence.

-

Azmaria and Rosette entered their room. Rosette just had her mind on sleeping, but Azmaria was deep in thought. Despite being tired, she kept thinking she had seen Chrno in that diner. Sitting down on her bed, she looked down at her hands. As she thought, her mind traveled to Joshua. What was he doing? She wondered. And Stella. Stella had left a year back, but she still kept in contact-unlike Chrno… "Are you goin' to sleep or not?" Rosette snapped from where she was already in her own bed, trying to sleep.

Azmaria looked up, she had somehow forgotten about Rosette. Nodding, she stood up to turn off the light. "Sorry, Rosette," she apologized, but Rosette never heard her because Azmaria was quick to realize her friend was fast asleep.

-

The next morning, Chrno awoke to hear someone talking. No, it was two people talking. Blinking wearily, he sat up in his bed. He listened to the argument for a few seconds more before getting dressed. He couldn't make out any of their conversation. That is until he heard the yelling…

"_I am not lying_!" it was a woman's voice. _"Azmaria and I both saw him! Wh-What? Would you even listen to me?"_

"Rosette…calm down-you're going to wake everyone up," Azmaria soft voice entered Chrno's ears. They must have found some money and were talking on the phone.

"_Well if Stella's coming then maybe we can find him again and maybe you'll listen to her!"_ Rosette snapped rather loudly. Chrno sighed; knowing that Rosette could go on and on and likely be thrown out of the hotel. He knew they were discussing him, with who, he didn't know. And to make matters worse…Stella was coming.

So someone really had let it leak out that he was alive…Sighing, he got dressed and then opened the door. Looking around, he didn't see anybody out in the hallway. Entering the lobby, Chrno froze. Rosette was standing there with a telephone in her hand looking extremely unhappy. Azmaria was staring straight at him. In her mind, she saw the sixteen-year old chrno, but something told her that this man standing in front of her was him. It was unmistakable by the way he looked. Slowly a look of shock spread across Chrno's face. Azmaria's face mirrored his-and poor Rosette had her back to them both.

"No…I uh, didn't wreck another car…" Rosette mumbled into the phone, but neither of them really heard her.

"Hmm…yeah, yeah, cars are off-topic here!" Rosette snapped into the phone. Azmaria opened her mouth to speak, but even as she did, no words would form. It was as if her mind had frozen in shock and she could think of nothing to say.

"Hmph, well tell Stella that she can stay at the Order! –What? I don't care if she came all the way from Germany just to see us-okay, that was a lie-but she can stay there! We'll find him quickly enough-and the demon slayer!" Rosette spat into the phone.

Azmaria didn't so much as glance at her friend. Chrno shifted under her gaze and gave her a sheepish smile. For some unknown reason, he had the urge to wave at Azmaria-almost like a little kid who knew he had gotten into trouble, but he didn't.

"I'm telling you he's here Father! Well, if you don't believe me, I'll just have to prove it to you when I find him!" Rosette growled into the phone and then slamming it onto the receiver.

Rosette turned around just as she hung up the phone on Father Remington. She had yet to notice Chrno and Azmaria hadn't spoken up once ever since seeing the demon standing in front of her, watching her with amazed eyes. When she did turned around, however, Rosette's whole body went rigid with surprise and shock. Her blue eyes met Chrno's red ones. For an instant, no one moved, no one blinked, barley breathing, and then Rosette gave. "Chrno!" she whispered in a hushed, amazed tone.

Chrno didn't move as Rosette rushed towards him, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle. When he looked down at her, still in shock of being caught, he saw the tears pouring from her eyes. He could hear her mumbles and sobs as she hugged him even tighter. "Why did you have to leave without saying anything, Chrno?" she asked him. Neither was aware that Azmaria had come forward and was now watching both of them silently.

After a few seconds longer, Chrno's mind seemed to realize what was happening and instantly registered Rosette's words. He reached up and hugged her, pulling her, if possible, closer to him. The dam that had helped hold back the emotions within him burst. Chrno could feel the pain of leaving her enter his heart once more. The longing to see her once again poured through him. And here she was in his arms, but she was crying.

"Why didn't you even say good-bye to me?" Rosette asked, the hurt tone of her voice cut through Chrno like a knife. She pulled away from his embrace, backing away from her, still sobbing. Azmaria wasn't sure what to do, the uncomfortable look in her eyes was clear. She didn't like to see her friends upset.

Chrno bit his lip, knowing he would have to respond to that, somehow, but he wasn't really sure how to do it. His red eyes looked away from Rosette, his mind racing. Finally, after a few sullen and tense seconds, he spoke up in a slow voice, "I…I didn't want you to follow me, Rosette…I didn't want to hurt you anymore. I wanted you to live while you still could," Chrno knew that because of the clock that had once hung around her neck that had zapped her soul so much to where she was only expected to live to be thirty years old, she wouldn't be able to do everything she had wanted. He hadn't wanted to get in her way of that.

Rosette looked at him, her eyes downcast as she whispered, "But you didn't have to leave…I didn't want you to leave, Chrno…Me, Joshua, and Azmaria…we've missed you." Rosette suddenly looked up at him; her eyes wondering; but the wonder in her eyes was fueled by pain and hurt. Yet there was an emotion there that Chrno couldn't make out. "Are you going to come back…or are you going to stay here, Chrno?"

For a fleeting instant, Chrno thought about telling her that he would only bring problems, but even as he tried to say this, his lips would not form the words. His mind would not give him anything to say other than going with her. Chrno had known all along it was going to happen like this. He had always known meeting Rosette again meant to stay with her, and he couldn't turn her down-not in the state she was her. He would only hurt her more… "I…" he tried to begin. He kept looking at Rosette, flashes of the past playing through his mind.

He remembered her dying, and then living once more, but even still, her days were numbered. He remembered the arguments that they had always gotten in and when he had been clobbered over the head ninety-nine percent of the time. At last Chrno opened his mouth to speak once more, "I'll go back with you, if that is what you want, Rosette."

Rosette grew quiet for a moment, the tears had stopped spilling from her eyes and she seemed to try and calm herself down. Chrno realized that she had failed when she moved closer to him and hugged him once more. "Yes, I want you to come back!" she gasped out.

Chrno smiled, hugging her gently in return. He liked it when she hugged him. Nodding, but not releasing her, he questioned, "When can we…when can we go back?" That was when Chrno realized he was still holding Rosette close to him. Releasing her, he backed away, a slight blush in his face. Rosette and Azmaria noticed this and smiled. Rosette herself was blushing ever so slightly.

"Well…Remington told us to find the person who as been killing all the demons around this part lately. And I would guess that would be you because I've never heard of another down here the killed them all so quickly," Rosette complimented, looking at Chrno, wiping the tears from her eyes. She seemed to forget the sad feeling that had resided in her. Instead it was replaced with great joy at seeing Chrno alive.

"I'm glad you're coming back, Chrno. Although I'm afraid you're going to have to walk a ways unless any of you can afford another car. Rosette ran into a tree on the way over here-and at the diner, it finally broke down," Azmaria giggled at the memory. Rosette flushed bright red and whirled on the Apostle.

"Well I was trying to miss that dog in the road! I wasn't about to run over it!" Rosette snapped. Azmaria only laughed all the harder and walked up to Chrno. Considering that he was taller than her, she had to lean up close to him to whisper in his ear, "The dog was standing on the side of the road-she wasn't paying attention actually, and so she blamed it on the dog. So now she's laid a curse on all dogs that dare cross her path," Azmaria laughed again as she quickly gave Chrno a hug. "I could have sworn I had seen you last night," she told him, and then backed away.

Chrno nodded, "You did. I was in that diner, because I woke up and I was hungry, so I came down into the town to eat. I saw you two getting out of the car, but I didn't even realize who you were until I had sat down."

"Why didn't you come and talk to us?" Rosette asked, her blue eyes looking at Chrno sharply. She hadn't changed much…

Chrno gave her a small smile and replied, "Why don't we discuss that why we're heading back to New York. And Rosette, I have a better idea. Let's not walk, and get some train tickets to New York-I can't afford a car, I don't think,"

"How much money do you have?" Azmaria asked, looking at Chrno with wonder and eagerness.

"I'm not going to spend this recklessly, Azmaria. I've earned a good deal of money since I left because I started killing all the demons down here. A few people paid me and I told them I'd keep killing any demons or monsters, deadly wild creatures and what-not in exchange for money and no mention of my whereabouts. Guess they couldn't keep the last part of the deal…oh well," Chrno sighed, rolling his eyes. "Well anyway, the train station is out this way,"

Azmaria and Rosette looked at one another, and then at Chrno. He noticed this rather quickly and gave them a questioning look, "What?" he didn't think he liked to look in their eyes…

"I've got an idea, Chrno. When we get back to the Order, I'll tell you what it is," Rosette replied, grinning as she headed towards the door. That was when Chrno noticed the small backpack she had slung over her shoulder. It was more than likely full of her guns and ammunition and things like that.

"Wow, you're actually carrying your own baggage," he teased her, laughing at the sharp look he received from that.

"I'd keep quiet if I were you-unless you want to carry our stuff and we'll all walk to New York," Rosette threatened.

"You wouldn't last," he responded lightly, "And besides, who says I have to walk?" he said more to himself than anyone as they headed outside. Rosette, however, caught the last part and looked at him.

"Humph…Wait a sec-hey Chrno, can you fly us to New York?" she suddenly asked. "It'd be much quicker than going on the train,"

Chrno gave her a startled stare, "Well…I guess it wouldn't hurt but-" Before he could finish, Rosette had decided for him, "Alright then! It's settled-You're flying us to New York!"

Chrno rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, "Why me…?" Both girls laughed as they handed him their backpacks. "Hey, you get to save your money!" Azmaria tried to cheer him up about the idea. Before Chrno realized what she was doing, Azmaria had leaned over and whispered very quietly into his ears, "For something _very_ special for Rosette-next month's her birthday!"

Chrno blinked. He had totally forgotten that…She was going to be twenty-one years old. He glanced over at Rosette. She certainly had grown, that was for sure. Looking at her, he wondered if she had thought about him any, like he had thought about her. He knew she had missed him a lot, but had she ever considered that they…? No…No Rosette might have, might not have considered such a possibility.

Chrno looked away from her, saying, "Do I have to fly you to New York? I'd rather just take a train-it attracts less attention and I can some breakfast on a train…" he added, "and so can you,"

Rosette looked at him for a couple of seconds and then replied, "Hm…you're smart for that one. Okay, we'll ride the train-but Chrno, how much money do you have?"

"I dunno…about four-hundred, four-hundred fifty dollars…why?-and before you ask, I'm not buying you a car. Get someone else to do that," he looked at her a smile on his face. Rosette didn't seem to hear the last part because her eyes were about to pop out of her head.

"You have how much? That's more than I make in two years!" she gasped in amazement. "Who the hell is paying you?"

Chrno shrugged, "I dunno their names, but there are five of them. Anyway, let's get going before they figure out I'm leaving this place," With that he headed off towards the train station, carrying Azmaria and Rosette's things. Old habits die hard…

_A/N: I'm so sorry for all the confusion on this fic!/! I don't know everything! I had someone ask me how did Chrno kill Rosette? I just meant that when her timer an out…this is like…2 years after that happened. And I have a friend who is telling me some things, so I learned she dies 8 years after all this at age 24. Ah well, I dunno everything, so I shall try to make a fic. Oh and you guys wanna know who the 'evil' person is? I shall tell you in Chapter 5! That is when everything starts happening. _

_And before you even ask-cause in here Rosette is twenty almost twenty-one-is she going to die at twenty-four? I can go ahead and tell you flat out NO! I like Rosette alive and not in a grave. /grumbles something about how evil I am to kill everyone except Rosette lives-and Chrno-Chrno must live!/ Boy aren't they lucky? I'm evil, but I have no plans to be **evi**l-**evil**_ _in this fic. But I can be!_


	3. Confessions and Encounters

**3. Confessions and Encounters**

On the train, Rosette was hungrily devouring any food offered to her. Chrno stared at her for a few seconds longer than necessary, wondering if she would ever change her eating habits, and where she put all that food. Shrugging, he ate some of his own food, but much slower. Azmaria had already finished her small breakfast and was kicked back, relaxing and enjoying the ride.

After they had finished eating, Chrno closed his eyes, relaxing and enjoying the day. He thought back to half an hour ago when Rosette and Azmaria had seen him in the inn. How horrified he had been at first, and then such relief, he was wondering why he hadn't fainted. He was going back to the Order-and Rosette wasn't mad at him!

"Hey Chrno," Rosette's voice suddenly cut through his thoughts. He opened one lazy eye to look at her. His expression was enough to tell her to go on. Rosette did so, "Now you've got to tell us why you didn't come and talk to us last night," she reminded him.

Chrno looked at them both, sitting up. He wondered what their reaction might be…should he tell them? Thinking about last night, he thought up a quick excuse, "But I did talk to you-I paid for your food, right?" he countered. Rosette only gave him a menacing stare. At least he had tried. "Oh fine," he gave in, "I didn't come to talk to you because I knew that if I did, I wouldn't be able to leave again. I left you last time after I came into your-" Chrno immediately shut his mouth, looking away from them both. Rosette noticed the blush on his face.

"What? Came where?" she asked, but now she was asking to tease him.

Chrno bit his lip and whispered, it was barley audible, "Into your room," If he remembered correctly, which he did, he had actually like and hated the night he had left Rosette.

-Flashback-

_**Chrno stopped at Rosette's door, looking around quickly. He was thankful that none of the girls were awake as he quietly slipped into the room. He knew very well that he would have to say good-bye to Rosette or forever suffer. Chrno shut the door behind him, surrounded in the dark shadows. The dark all around him, however, was pierced by a half moon that shone through the window. **_

_**He could see Rosette sleeping peacefully on her bed, stretched out with the covers half kicked off of her. He smiled at the sight of her face. Oh how he would miss it…Approaching the bed side, he looked down at her.**_

_**Tentatively, he reached out to brush the hair out of her face. Chrno could feel the regret welling up in him as he looked down at her. She wouldn't even know that he was leaving. "Good-bye, Rosette," he whispered, his fingers stroking her cheek gently. Slowly he leaned down, careful not to awaken her, and brushed his lips against hers. **_

_**Pulling back up, Chrno did not fail to miss the smile on Rosette's face as he turned and left her room. "Please forgive me," he begged her even though she slept, and then vanished out into the corridor. **_

-End of Flashback-

Rosette blinked, "In my room? Why'd you go in there?" she was clearly confused. After she had asked such an innocent question, Chrno's blush turned a little deeper. He did not look up, afraid that if he did, she would see straight through him and know what he had done. He still wasn't sure if she would be appealed by the idea of being kissed by a demon. But…he knew, in the back of his mind, she cared for him, and through the screen that was her carefree spirit that had abused him so much, she had feelings towards him. Chrno knew this, but he didn't accept it.

"I was just saying good-bye," was his rather short reply. He fell silent then, not looking at either of them. Especially Azmaria. He could feel her gaze on him and it felt as if she were looking into him, seeing the memories he saw of Rosette.

Rosette sighed, "Oh, well how much longer 'til we get to New York?" she asked Chrno, very aware of how uncomfortable he had made her, though she hadn't the slightest clue as to why.

"A couple of days, Rosette. Be patient," Chrno said, finally looking up at her. He seemed to have regained his composure. She glared at him, but said nothing else as she sat back.

The silence that followed made Chrno sleepy. Yawning, he looked over to the doorway that opened up into the hall. As he did, his red eyes landed on the cloaked figure standing there, looking directly at him. Chrno stiffened. Why hadn't he sensed the person was there? And then it dawned on him. This was the exact same person he had seen last night. "What do you want?" he growled. He did not want to reveal to Rosette and Azmaria that he had seen the figure before.

"Who are you?" Rosette asked, noticing who was standing in the doorway. The person under the black cloak didn't even seem to acknowledge her presence.

"I see you have regained your older form, Chrno. That is good. That childish form of yours must have been very insulting," the figure spoke with a mocking tone. It was a male's voice. He turned away from Chrno, saying, "It's nice to know you won't be insulting the Sinners anymore with such a pitiful disguise as a child,"

Chrno stiffened. This guy was not a Sinner, he knew, because he would have recognized the voice, but whoever he was, was either a friend or and ally of them. "Who are you?" he demanded at once, his red eyes darkening to furious slits.

The man laughed, "You shall know in due time," was all he said before walking away. As Chrno leapt up to try and catch up with him, he noticed that the man was no where to be seen.

-

A painful scream ripped through the night air. The stench of wet blood soaked the surrounding area as a figure dropped to his knees, clutching his head in pain. Blood ran from his mouth and gushed from a wound in his stomach, all the way up to his chest. Inside his head, it felt as if he were being tore apart, dying painfully.

His black hair fell into his tear-stained face as he dropped face first into the dirt. A scythe was dug deeply into his spine, but the black-haired man was not dead. His darkly tanned skin was pale under the moon, the blood glistening. His breath came in short, painful gasps as he dug at the grass, screaming for the pain to leave him.

"That is what you get, brother, for betraying us," a sinister voice growled in his ear as the scythe was yanked out of the wound. A man dressed all in black stood up straight, a sneer on his face. His black hair was straight and went down to his shoulders. His dark skin had few scars on it, but it was clear that he was a very powerful person. The bloodied scythe in his hand, he spoke once more, "And it is time to kill the others,"

"Sarin! Stop!" the wounded man yelled desperately, but even as he did, the life that flowed through his veins faded away. His time was up.

-

Days later, the train finally stopped in New York. Chrno happily got off with Rosette and Azmaria. His long purple hair, which Rosette had braided for him, flowed with the wind that blew through the city of New York. "Finally! Okay, let's go back to the Order!" Rosette said cheerfully as she began walking away. Chrno and Azmaria exchanged glances and then hurried after her.

Once they caught up, Chrno looked at Rosette, asking, "Okay, you told me two days ago that you had a plan-what is it?"

Rosette looked at him, a grin plastered on her face, "Thanks for reminding me! Okay, I have the great idea of scaring the crap out of Sister Kate!" Rosette explained eagerly.

Chrno raised an eyebrow, "And how do you plan to do that?"

"Well, since everyone thinks your dead, I thought that we could-" Rosette started, but was cut off by Chrno's blunt reply, "No,"

Rosette gave him a look, "Why not?"

"Because I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to walk straight into the Order and act as if everything was one big joke. That's not right-and besides, I'm not even sure that Sister Kate will let me back into the Order after I left without telling anyone." Chrno's voice was stern and his expression told Rosette that he wasn't about to change his mind.

Rosette rolled her eyes, "Fine…Well, I guess you'd be seen upon arriving at the Order anyway cause of the guards outside of it. They're more out there now because some demon with a scythe goes around killing people,"

Chrno stiffened and looked at Rosette, "And you're telling me this now, why? Rosette! I kinda needed to know that!" he snapped at her.

Rosette gave him a hard look, "Well it kinda slips your mind when you see someone you thought to be dead for two years standing right in front of you!" she snapped back. Azmaria sighed, even now they were fighting…oh well, at least things were back to normal-well sort of. Chrno looked a lot different now. In the back of her mind, she thought he actually looked rather hot…Blushing, she pushed the thought from her mind as she walked along side her friends.

Chrno looked taken aback, but said nothing more as they hurried towards the Magdalan Order. Within ten to twenty minutes, they finally reached it, crossing through the park. Upon arriving, Chrno saw the guards that Rosette was talking about. A Sister was sitting outside, looking quiet bored. The others were men who were stationed there with a gun, no doubt loaded with Sacreds.

As soon as they approached, all guns were aimed at them. Rosette jumped at the sounded of guns being cocked and ready to be fired. Chrno narrowed his eyes, glaring at them. Azmaria shrunk away. "What do you think you're doing aiming a gun at me?" Rosette nearly shouted in anger. "Do I look _like_ a demon? Do any of us?" she snapped.

"Um…Rosette, there's a slight misconception in that statement," Chrno couldn't help but point out, scratching the back of his head.

"Sister Rosette!" the Sister who had been sitting on the ground, looking as bored as hell, ran up to Rosette and gave her a hug. The guards lowered their guns, apologizing. The Sister released Rosette, grinning. That was when she noticed Chrno. She looked at him for a few seconds, and then asked, "Who's this good lookin' guy? Is he that demon slayer you were supposed to find?"

Chrno blushed at the comment, smiling all the same at Rosette's reaction. "Well…uh, yeah…Oh yeah! I forgot-you haven't met Sister Amy have you?" Rosette asked him, turning to face him. "Well, of course you haven't! She's new here. She was imported from San Francisco!"

Chrno nodded, "Uh huh…why are you importing Sisters now?" he asked, clearly confused.

Rosette rolled her eyes, "Tell ya later. Anyway, Sister Amy-this is the demon slayer we were supposed to find-and he is Chrno," After Rosette finished speaking, Amy looked at Chrno incredulously.

"Is this the same Chrno who tried to destroy San Francisco? And is believed dead?" she growled, giving Chrno a hard look. Chrno flinched at the comment, backing away from them, his eyes troubled.

"Hm…yes, but he wasn't…himself…and as for dead…well, he can explain that for himself" Rosette replied carefully; she turned around to look at Chrno. Seeing that he had backed away, she grew slightly confused. Until she saw the gun aimed at him. "HEY!" Rosette suddenly yelped, rounding on Amy, "Why are you pointing that damn gun at him?"

Sister Amy gave Rosette a glance an replied, "Cause he killed my father and my little brother when he did that!" Amy growled, raising the gun to point at Chrno's heart.

Chrno grew troubled and uneasy. The guards, who had saw Sister Amy raise a gun at Chrno, raised their own guns. His red eyes narrowed at them as he backed further away. "Put the guns down!" Rosette yelled at them. In an instant, Rosette's own gun that was fully loaded was pointed straight into Amy's face, the barrel placed right between her eyes. "Put. The. Gun. Down."

Amy complied, dropping the gun instantly. In the same instant, Chrno rushed forward and snatched the gun straight out of Rosette's hand. Rosette didn't even realize it was missing until Chrno was three feet away from her. Azmaria was watching with wide, terrified eyes. She had wondered how the Order would react to Chrno's reappearance, and now she knew.

"Rosette, I think you love your gun too much," Chrno sighed, shaking his head. "You needn't have threatened her. I could have gotten away before she even pulled the trigger-you should know that. As for the guards-well, I don't know how good their fire is, but considering how much faster I am with my horns now, I don't think they'd hit me either," he tossed the gun back to her and turned to the guards. "Lower the guns," he ordered.

"Yeah! Ya heard Chrno! Lower the damn guns so we can go see Sister Kate!" Rosette snapped at them. Amy was looking at her with disbelieving eyes as Rosette stormed past all of them, dragging Chrno.

_**A/N: Wow! I never expected to get so many reviews on just the first chapter! Yay! Okay, I think Chapter 4 should be up soon enough, considering I'm half-way through with it. And don't cha just love the guy with the scythe? I do! I love my evil characters!…And I usually don't like scythes…oh well. Ya know this might sound rather…naïve…to you, but what does AU mean? I mean, I know basically what it means, but what does it stand for?/? And how do you make the letters bigger on FFN? I've tried that so many times, but I can't seem to get it right/mummers how evil FFN can be when I mess with the edit/preview button…/ I've seen a few fics that have the title in bigger letters.**_


	4. The Magdalan Order

**4. The Magdalan Order**

Joshua was heading out the doors just as the slammed open. His eyes widened as Rosette stood there, her gun clenched tightly in her hand. She looked very cross at the moment and didn't seem to see him as she marched into the Order. Coming up behind her was Azmaria and someone who looked a lot like Chrno. In fact, Joshua believed it was Chrno. "Chrno?" he voiced.

The demon turned to look at him, a look of helplessness on his face as Rosette continued to drag him down the hall. "Hello, Joshua," he greeted, waving. Azmaria turned and waved at him to. Immediately, Joshua rushed forward and followed them.

"How are you…?" he started to say, but let his voice be carried off.

"Alive?" Chrno finished, "Well, there's a funny story behind that but I-ow! Rosette!" he stumbled as he tried to regain his balance. Rosette turned to look at him sharply, letting go of his black shirt. Chrno fell because of this, but regained his balance instantly. "She hasn't changed one bit…" he mumbled.

Joshua nodded in agreement, along with Azmaria, "I know what you mean, but she seems to be really upset about something. Why is she so upset?"

It was Azmaria who answered. "Because Sister Amy pulled a gun on him-and I don't think you knew this Chrno, but the gun had a Gospel in it-you couldn't have dodged that like you could a Sacred. And I think she's smart enough to realize a Sacred wouldn't hurt you so bad. Oh, and all the guards were about ready to blow his head off,"

"That's a nice way to put it…" Joshua mumbled, remember distantly how he had once pulled the trigger on Chrno and shot him in the head on Aion's orders in San Francisco. Rosette had believed Chrno had died because the bullet had been shot at point blank and had destroyed half of Chrno's head and a part of his shoulder. He still felt rather guilty about that, though Chrno had forgiven him long ago.

"Oh…sorry," Azmaria apologized instantly, realizing what Joshua had been thinking about. Chrno gave him a sympathetic look, telling him silently that he shouldn't think about it. Joshua nodded, but it was barley noticeable.

Within a range of two minutes, Chrno found himself standing in front of Sister Kate's door. Rosette opened the door, the furious look never vanishing from her face. Sister Kate looked up from her desk, "Rosette!" she gasped out, clearly surprised to see the young exorcist. "You're back early. –Wait a second, what's the matter now?" Sister Kate had just noticed the expression that Rosette wore on her face.

"Grr…" Rosette responded as she sat down. "Sister Amy tried to shoot Chrno," she grumbled, noticing that Chrno and the others had yet to come in. Azmaria and Joshua were the first to enter her office after Rosette, but Chrno did not show.

"Chrno?" Sister Kate repeated blankly, confused greatly. "But isn't he…well, dead?" Rosette rolled her eyes irritably. For the present time, she had totally forgotten about scaring the living hell out of Sister Kate and was focused only on her own anger.

-

Chrno stood outside Sister Kate's office, wondering if she'd let him stay or not. He scuffled his boot on the floor, rejecting the idea. After all, it wasn't likely. For a few heartbeats, he thought about turning around and leaving, but before he could so much as breath, a hand shot out and yanked him into the room.

Turning to face Sister Kate, he watched as a look of amazement cross her features. "Chrno!" she gasped out. "You've changed," she noted, suddenly regaining her composure. Quickly she got to the topic that Chrno had been thinking about. "Are you wanting to rejoin the Magdalan Order, Chrno?"

Chrno nodded, "Yes…If you're wondering why I left, it's because I-" he began, but was cut off by Sister Kate, who was _smiling_ at him, "No need to explain. Of course you can rejoin our Order. We've missed you on our missions-I never realized what a good help you were until you…vanished. And since you are back-your get to help us out with a few things again. I say we celebrate. We haven't had a party for a long time now," Chrno didn't argue. He was happy and content that Sister Kate had allowed him to rejoin the Order even after he had left without so much as a good bye to anyone…_except Rosette…_

Rosette jumped up from where she had been sitting, a look of joy on her face; she was quickly followed by Azmaria and they both gave him a quick hug. "See? I told you you'd get to stay!" Rosette said cheerfully. Joshua watched, a smile on his face.

"Okay, enough of that, now to the matter of why a gun was pulled on you, Chrno," Sister Kate brought up the subject bluntly. Chrno gave her a look and began explaining the whole story. When he was finished, Sister Kate gave Rosette a very disapproving look. "Don't pull a gun on your fellow Sisters, Rosette, or else I will have to take your gun away. As for Amy, bring her up to my office and then we can arrange and get ready for the celebration.

**A/N: Yeah...I see my reviewers' points. Oh well. Next chapter 5. The Sinner**

**It's going to be much more interesting and longer! Update...maybe Friday.**


	5. The Sinner

5. The Sinner

Sarin's harsh red eyes glinted dangerously as he looked at the large building that was the Magdalan Order. His fingers tightened around the scythe in his hand. Quietly, he slipped past the guards, melting into the shadows as he headed inside. Opening the door, he looked around, his breathing shallow. He could sense many people. One aura, however, was dark. It was a demon's aura.

Anger flared in his blood as he traced the demon's aura through the large house. This demon was the one he was looking for. Sarin raced quietly through the dark house, careful to avoid the Sisters and anyone else who walked through the halls, but it was rare to see them this late up. His black leather clothes, finely tanned skin, and black hair helped him mix with the shadows, providing him more cover. His shirt was actually a black cotton shirt, and his pants were leather. There was a black leather trench coat that he wore, however, making him appear very sinister and dark; deadly.

-

Chrno sat outside Rosette's room, wondering how long it was going to take her to get ready for the celebration. For the billionth time, he asked himself why the celebration was even necessary. He saw no real point in it. Since when had the Order enjoyed having demons join their ranks?

Just as he was about to stand up, his sixth sense kicked in. for a split of a second, there was a flash of demonic energy, and then Chrno flung himself to the floor just as the blade of a scythe sailed over his head.

Scrambling to his feet, Chrno spun around to meet the hard, red eyes of Sarin, a demon. Sarin's set expression turned into a sneer, "Hello, traitor," he spoke with a dark, yet smooth tone. "What would a demon such as yourself be doing in a dump like this-with nuns and exorcists none the less? Have you really sunk that low, Sinner?" Sarin spat, his red eyes flashing with malice.

Chrno stiffened, quickly transforming into his true form. "Who are you?" he growled, "Are you are Pursuer?" Chrno knew that this demon was not of low class. He was very high ranked and powerful-and just by looking at him, stronger than Aion.

Sarin gave him a dark, insulted look, "Why would I be with one of such dense intelligence and represent the meaning of scum and prefer to be damned rather than freedom?" Sarin approached Chrno, his movements stiff and deadly. "No, Chrno the Sinner, I Sarin, am like you. But I did not betray anyone, as you did, I, Sarin the Sinner, was betrayed. Now those who dared turn away from me must die. Including you,"

"Wh-What?" Chrno gasped, stumbling backwards, "A Sinner? You're a Sinner?" he choked, clearly shocked. He had always believed there were only seven Sinners, never considering any more.

Sarin smirked, "Shocked? I'm not surprised. Aion wiped your memory to make you believe he was the strongest, making you forget all about me. But he will never be stronger than I. _No; I am the leader of the Sinners! I killed our allies, I was the one who finally found Pandemonium, I was the one who killed the ones who got in our way, but now I will kill you!"_

Just as Sarin rushed forward, Rosette opened the door. A startled yelp past through her lips as a scythe swung out at her, missing her by a quarter of an inch. Sarin stopped in front of Rosette, the blade of his scythe resting on her throat. He looked over at Chrno, "Still involved with human women? Well, I can't really blame you there," Sarin's voice was taunting. He looked down at Rosette, who had frozen, staring at Chrno with pleading eyes, and then slowly, raising her eyes to meet Sarin's. For an instant, Chrno felt his blood boil at the look Sarin gave Rosette. A deadly, snarling voice raged in his head, _'Dare he look at her like that?'_ the demonic side of him raged.

Chrno, who was on the verge of attacking Sarin, froze when he saw the scythe held to Rosette's throat. One mistake and she would lose her life, something he had worked so hard for her to keep, and yet, he had yet to work hard enough. His red eyes widened, and then narrowed, "Leave her out of this, Sarin!" he cried, "She has nothing to do with this and you know it!"

Sarin's smirk widened. His red eyes glittered with mischief, "Hm…I know that, but I find it amusing. That is the same thing you said about Magdalena when you first found her. One of the Sinners-Rizel I believe it was-had something against you She decided she would _hurt_ Magdalena just to make you mad-and you caught her at it," Sarin chuckled darkly, "Yes, Chrno, I was there even then, watching and waiting."

"It's you…you're that demon who has been hanging around the Order!" Rosette suddenly snapped, inching away from the scythe. She needn't have done that because Sarin had already removed the scythe from her unprotected throat.

"Rosette! Chrno! Hurry up," a voice called from the hallway. It sounded like Azmaria. Sarin glanced behind him, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm afraid I must be leaving now," he told them quickly. Both watched in silence as Sarin melted into the shadows and was gone. Once he had vanished from sight, Rosette rounded on Chrno, about to demand answers until she saw the expression on his face. Chrno was pale, his red eyes narrowed in fear.

"Are you alright?" he asked her at last, the spine-like tail twitching behind him, showing his unease. His whole body was shaking. Rosette was surprised. What was it with Chrno? She had never seen him so shaken and afraid before. The look in his eyes unsettled her. His red eyes were sad, he looked like he was alone, alone and having no one to turn to. Who had that demon been?

"Yeah, I'm fine…but what's wrong with you?" she asked hesitantly, the worry showing in her voice. Despite that, Chrno only shook his head, returning to his adult-human form. In his mind, he could still hear the words of Sarin the Sinner ringing through his ears. '_I am the leader of the Sinners! I killed our allies, I was the one who finally found Pandemonium, I was the one who killed the ones who got in our way, but now I will kill you!'_

-

Hours later Chrno had still not accomplished in shaking the haunting feeling that Sarin was watching him. Sarin had always been watching the Sinners, killing when the time came. That was more than likely had become of the last of the Sinners, besides himself. And as he leaned against the wall, off to the sidelines of the massive, crowd, he realized that if he had continued to hide in the mountains of Tennessee, Sarin would have killed him there too.

"Hello Chrno, how have you been through the passing years?" Remington's voice cut through his dark and disturbing thoughts. Chrno turned, blinking, not really registering what Remington said for a few seconds.

"Hm…well…I guess you could say I've seen better days," he replied bluntly, not really wanting to speak with Remington. They both had their fair share of disliking towards one another, although Chrno had long since forgotten, somewhat, about them, and apparently, Remington was trying. But at the present time, Chrno did not wish to speak with anyone but Rosette. There was too much on his mind and he knew he should warn her about who Sarin was.

-

Rosette picked her way through the crowd of people, searching for Chrno. She had lost him about and hour ago and was wondering where on earth he could possibly have vanished too. Rolling her eyes, she pushed past some other Sister, only to run into Sister Amy. Amy looked at Rosette for a few seconds, and then said over the sound of much talking and laughter, "I'm sorry about earlier, Rosette, it's just that…well…it was the way I was raised. I was taught never trust a demon for a second and-"

Rosette cut her off quickly, "Yeah, yeah, Amy. I understand what you mean. A lot of people don't trust Chrno and disregard him. Sometimes I can't even trust him-but that's for different matters and under certain circumstances," she explained, giving her friend a smile, which quickly vanished at the voice that sounded in her ear.

"Indeed? Hm, I will have to tell Chrno that next time I see him, Rosette." Rosette jumped out of her skin, reaching for the gun at her side, but only too late when she realized she wasn't carrying one on her. Spinning around, she turned to look straight into the face of the demon she had encountered a few hours ago. Sarin smirked at her expression, "It is so easy to scare you human women. Hem, hem," he laughed with closed lips, the amusement on his face.

Amy looked at Sarin with a blank stare. "Whoa re you?" she asked, "Are you one of Rosette's friends too?" she asked almost hesitantly.

Sarin's grin widened. "You could say that," he responded lightly, his red eyes flashing as he looked back down at Rosette. The young exorcist shuttered under his stare, wondering what would happen if she alerted everyone there that there was a demon in the room-besides Chrno. What would Sarin do to her-with that scythe of his?

**A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews! And thnak you Sneko! Chapter 6 is called Midnight Walks and should be up on Sunday as long as I have at least 3 reviews. yeah, I'm aiming, but I won't set number of reviews often-promise!**


	6. Midnight Walks

**6. Midnight Walks**

Sarin looked at Rosette, "Before you ask what I am doing here, I must say I am sorry for the way I acted a few hours ago. I do not usually treat human women with such actions, but under the circumstances, I had no choice. But I did enjoy the way Chrno reacted; it was a very amusing sight, was it not? He's changed, though. Usually he wouldn't give a damn if I threatened someone he loved and attempt to kill me-and _then_ remember the one whose life had been in danger. But anyhow, but you're look, you must think I am crazy showing up in such a place with so many people, are you not?"

Rosette _was_ baffled by such a daring act. Amy wasn't making anything better as she looked at Sarin with curious eyes, a dreamy look in their brown depths. Rosette shuttered, she didn't even want to think about what was going through Amy's mind at the minute. With that thought, Rosette suddenly felt angry, "Yes! And I _did not_ find that amusing in the least! You scared the hell out of me with that damn scythe of yours! And no I am not going to except your apology!" Sarin stared at her with no emotion on his face as Rosette snarled at him, "And if you don't get your ass out of here this instant, I'm going to get Chrno and then _he_ can kick your ass out seeing as I have no weapons on me!"

Sarin raised an eyebrow, chuckling, "You think that _Chrno the Sinner_ can be me? Hem, hem, you never cease to amuse me, Rosette. Someone as weak as Chrno couldn't possibly beat someone who is so much stronger than him and Aion put together. Hem, hem," he was usually that closed lip laugh again…it seemed to mock her words. But Sarin wasn't through. Instead, his red eyes seemed to take on a darker color through their human guise. "And Rosette, I will give you this warning once. _Never_ disrespect me in the manner you just did or you will lose more than your life. I take respect and return respect; but only to few human women. Men, I don't give a damn about men."

Sarin's eyes looked down into Rosette's angry blue eyes. The emotion that she had seen in them earlier had return, "You, on the other hand, are an exception that I will not kill on sight. No, you're much to pretty for that," his words we quiet so no one but Rosette heard them. All at once, emotions erupted within her, her heart pounding so hard it hurt. Confusion, anger, and disgust washed over her as she quickly jumped away from Sarin, who had, in all of her confusion, moved a little closer to her. Amy had been forgotten, but she wasn't when Rosette suddenly knocked into her, shoving the younger Sister into a man who was happily chatting with an old friend.

"Get away from me!" she screeched, just as she tripped, about to fall. Sarin grabbed hold of her arm and yanked her forward so she could stand up straight. For a second, Rosette's mind went blank, and then, when she realized Sarin was still holding her arm, she jerked it away, repugnance showing on her face.

"Rosette!" Chrno's sharp voice yelled over the shatter that seemed to have died down around them. Rosette turned to see Chrno rushing towards her. His eyes were narrowed as he looked at her, the anger radiating off of him, but she knew it wasn't directed off of her. People had turned to look at them as Chrno wrapped his arms protectively around Rosette. Amy, meanwhile, was staring at them with bewilderment on the floor, her brown hair in her eyes.

Sarin looked at Chrno, a sneer on his face, "Hm…I knew you'd never change, Chrno. Always running to the rescue. Hem, hem, well, it has been nice. But I must be going you know, I still have a few Sinners to kill, and then you're next. But before I go, I thank both of you for killing Aion-you're helping with my job, too bad, it wasn't enough to stop him. And also, before you jump to conclusions, I'm not paying you anything. Well, I might just pay Rosette _something_, but Chrno, you don't deserve it," Chrno let out a furious growl, his red eyes deepening, signaling that he wasn't afraid to show his true form.

With that, Sarin held up his hand. His scythe appeared in his gloved hand, his fingers curling around the thin, black wood that was connected to the sharp, deadly blade. Twirling it in his finger, Sarin grabbed it with both hands and slashed down through the air. A black hole ripped into the surrounding atmosphere and Sarin was gone.

Rosette shuddered in Chrno's arms, muttering, "Damn he reminds me of the Grim Reaper…" She felt Chrno's arms tightened around her shaking form as he muttered, "I think that's what he wants…" Despite everyone looking, Chrno held her tighter, causing Rosette to blush. "What did he say to you?" Chrno demanded, his voice suddenly stern and worried.

Rosette pulled slightly, wanting Chrno to release her, but he did not such thing as she stuttered, her voice shaken and unsure, "N-Nothing…" she pulled slightly again, and this time, Chrno released her. When she turned to look at him, longing to hit him for what he had just done, but she amazingly resisted. "He didn't say anything important…"

Chrno sighed, "Fine, if you won't tell me anything, will you at least follow me. I have to tell you something about him…" Chrno responded heavily, ignoring the looks he was getting. That is until Remington came up.

"What's going on here? I heard someone say there was a demon in here-and it wasn't Chrno!" Remington demanded, his voice sharp as he came up to Chrno and Rosette. He looked at Chrno, his eyes narrowed, "Well, was there?"

Chrno nodded, but he didn't say anything else as he turned around and began walking away. Rosette stood there for a few moments longer, wondering how Chrno had changed so much. He didn't talk as much to anyone, and he had spoke to her a good deal, but the others, it was like they weren't even there. What had happened to him in those two years he had lived an isolated life in the mountains?

-

Once they had reached the outside, Chrno didn't stop. He passed the guards without so much as a glance at them. Rosette followed him, wondering he was taking her. Once they were away from all the people, Chrno turned to face her and spoke up, "Okay, I can tell you now, Rosette. While you were still in your room, Sarin told me something important,"

"Was it so important that you had to drag me out here in the cold?" she snapped, her voice sharp.

Chrno's expression didn't change as he nodded, "Yes-and I'm sorry, here," Chrno removed the jacket he had been wearing for a while now and handed it to Rosette, who put it on at once. "But anyway, he told me when I asked him if he was a Pursuer or something because he wasn't weak and there are only seven Sinners. But he told me that he was _not_ a Pursuer, and he told me that he was called _Sarin the Sinner_…there are actually eight Sinners, but Aion didn't want us-or anyone else to believe it. Sarin is stronger than Aion or me put together…and I never expected anything…"

Chrno finished speaking, his voice low and unsure, as if he didn't know how Rosette was going to react to the news. Rosette looked at Chrno, her eyes wide as she stuttered, "Y-You mean that Sarin is a _Sinner?_" the young exorcist choked out. In her mind's eye, she saw the dark man move closer to her, a look in his eye that made her very uncomfortable. She saw him grab her hand once more, pulling her upwards. Rosette shuddered, unable to think about such things. It couldn't be true…Sinners couldn't like humans…Sinners were evil…But in the back of her mind, a voice whispered, 'Like Chrno?'

The emotion she was feeling must have shown in her expression, because Chrno cut through her line of thinking by asking her, the low tone he had been using never depleting, "Are you alright?" Rosette wondered how to answer him. No, she wasn't alright, but for some reason, she didn't want to talk about what had happened with Sarin in the celebration. Something told her Chrno wouldn't take it so well, and might just do something rash. He always did when she was harmed. Once he had even tried to force the seal open when the contract was still upon them. Rosette shuttered at the memory. He had tried it several times in the past, and each time, it had hurt her, but now that he had his horns back, he had access to his full power. She hated to think about what he could do now.

Shaking her head, Rosette looked back up at him, "No, I'm fine, Chrno," she assured him, but even as she heard herself speaking, her words did not sound convincing. Chrno had obviously heard the lie in her voice as he gave her a puzzled look, but said nothing as he walked a little ways away. Rosette followed him, wondering where he was going, considering the Order was the exact opposite direction. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"For a walk," Chrno replied over his shoulder. His red eyes looked at Rosette expectantly, "Do you want to come with me?" he asked, the question in his maroon eyes clear. It was also clear that he wanted Rosette to follow him, but wouldn't force her to.

-

Sarin sighed heavily, leaning back against the cool tree truck. He was sitting on a branch in the New York City Park, resting from what he had just done. Another dead, two more to go. _Chrno and Aion:_ the last two Sinners alive other than himself. He wanted to kill Chrno first, to get him out of the way, but there was the matter of Aion, who was stronger then Chrno. His red eyes looked down at the ground, spotting the black cloaked figure standing there, looking at him with narrowed eyes. Sarin grinned menacingly.

Quick as lightning, he leapt from the tree, landing in front of the figure. His red eyes narrowed as he landed, one hand placed on the ground, gloved fingers digging into the earth. Hunched over for a few seconds, he met the blood-red eyes of the cloaked demon, before leaping up straight, the scythe appearing in his hands. "Remember me? Of course you don't, after all, I don't look the same at the moment," he growled at the cloaked demon, his voice full of mocking sarcasm.

The cloaked demon looked at him with narrowed eyes. A low, angry voice came from under the hood, "Who are you? How have we met?"

Sarin's grin widened as his body began to change. His black hair slowly grew longer, a dark light beginning to form around him. Slowly, his body became leaner and more muscled. Horns grew from his head and his already demonic eyes grew darker and more emotionless. His gloved fingers ripped through the finger parts of the glows, claws growing on each finger. His face became thinner, and more shadowed and darker. Long bangs cascaded down into his face. Sarin, who had leaned over during the process, suddenly straightened; the scythe in his hands glowing under the pale moonlight. His tall, muscular figure looked much more menacing and the aura around him darkened, forming on of great, unheard of power. Wings fluttered gently behind him, black and powerful. A spine-like tail came from the beginning of his spine, twirling around his left leg to where it was in front of his right, the pointed tip twitching. Three runes, black as his soul, rested on his forehead, finishing the touch of a demon.

The cloaked demon's eyes widened in shock, "Sarin!" he gasped, "I thought you had died!" Even as the hidden demon spoke, he backed away, eyeing the scythe, and yet, his ruby eyes seemed locked on Sarin's.

"Then you thought wrong. After you and your minions betrayed me, I watched you the whole time, waiting to seek my revenge on each and every one of you. And now that all of your minions are dead, you are next on my list," Sarin growled, preparing to attack.

The cloaked demon leapt away from the attack, the hood falling out of his face to reveal locks of white hair and dark red eyes. Aion was surprised to see Sarin standing before him, his demonic form looking more foreboding and virulent as he took a graceful step towards Aion, and swung again. Aion was quick to react again as he leapt back, becoming his true form once more. Quick as lightning, Aion sprung into the air, using his wings to hover there. His large demon sword was in his hand as he looked down at Sarin. "Do you ever wonder why we betrayed you, Sarin?" Aion asked, making the demon freeze, looking up at Aion, no emotion on his face. "I'll tell you. It was because you were such an arrogant leader who looked only towards his own goals, never caring what happened to his comrades. And you have an unusal likely towards human women, such a disgrace towards us demons. You and Chrno both did. No one ever liked you, except maybe Chrno, but I guess he had reason. We all planned to leave you-actually kill you while you slept, but we never got the chance once we learned of Mary," Aion explained, but was cut short by Sarin's scythe zipping past his foot.

Aion landed on the ground, swinging out at Sarin, but missed. Sarin looked at Aion, stopping the battle for a moment, "Now it is my turn to ask you something, Aion. How is it that you live still?" Sarin asked, holding his scythe diaganaly, ready to swing if attacked.

Aion looked at Sarin, "Well, I'm alive only because I believe it was decided it was not yet my time to die. Don't you agree, it would have been a shame if I died so soon?" Aion questioned mockingly, but he backed away from Sarin, sensing the black aura around his former leader strengthening as he drew on the energy that surrounded them, ready to kill when summoned. Yes, Sarin had control of every energy source, including Aion himself. He was second in line to Pandemonium, or at least that is what many demons believed.

"Hem, hem, I believe your fate is decided by me and no one else. You die now," Sarin's voice was dark with malice, and yet smooth and calm as he held out the scythe, with was glowing with demonic energy as he swung out at Aion. Not even a second later, the scythe slashed through Aion's arm, blood pouring from the wound. What would normally be considered a 'minor' wound to a demon, hurt Aion like hell its self. The dark energy seeped into his blood, making him feel as if it were burning his insides inside out.

Just as he was about to retaliate, despite the wound, Sarin had jerked away, spinning around. And then he vanished into the shadows, unspoken words echoing through Aion's mind. '_You're my target…'_ was what Sarin seemed to have said when he vanished with the shadows. Aion looked up from where he was clutching his bloodied arm, wincing every time a muscle moved. His energy was fleeing him even as the wound began to heal. His red eyes met Chrno's hard eyes, along with the wide blue eyes of Rosette. "Aion…" Chrno breathed, glaring at someone he had once considered his brother. Aion returned the look with just as much anger.

**A/N: yay! Reviews! Well, I updated rather quickly, but I can tell you one thing-I have no idea when Chapter 7 will be up, so be happy with this one, even if it is a cliffy, you will just have to wait. I hurt myself today and would rather not do anything cause I'm in a lot of pain and being hunched over a computer is NOT fun, so we will just have to wait and see. Also, I believe I might be grounded because on my mid-term I made a 70 in math...I'm very bad at math. Well, continue to review, please. Gets updated MUCH faster.**

**Yes, I decided to update Sunday regardless, but it's Friday...oh well. As for the review about no one wondering why Sarin was carrying a scythe-yeah well, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be wondering why he had a scythe if he was going to kill you, ne? I'd just rather get out of his way first. And yes, I do suppose Rosette would ask Chrno some questions, but all-most-of that got answered in this chapter. **

**As for Aion and so forth, if I get anything wrong about him, or anything wrong about the past, please tell me so I will know later on. As I said before, I haven't finished the manga and have never seen Aion in color either...I've never seen the Anime and I'm only on Volume Six Chapter 5. I found chapter 5, but I can't find the rest, so I shall wait, as usual.**


	7. Aion the Resurrected

7. Aion the Resurrected

Sister Kate sat at her desk, sighing. Remington had just told her what had happened downstairs at the celebration. There had been a demon in the Order and not one person had tried to stop the demon. Not even Rosette, who enjoyed firing her gun at demons. Remington had said Chrno had spoken to the demon who was reveal as Sarin, but nothing more. Sister Amy had fallen on the floor, but had made no further attempt to stands up. Crossly, she wrote down some things on the paper. She had ordered Remington to go find Chrno and Rosette, seeing as they seemed to have disappeared. "Just when I thought things would be going a little more steady around here!" she sighed into the air.

-

Chrno felt his whole body tense up at the sight of Aion, anger flashing through his eyes at the demon. Looking at what Aion had been wearing, Chrno realized something. He had been wrong. The cloaked man had been a Sinner, but Chrno had never guessed it would be Aion. Maybe that was what Sarin meant when he said it hadn't been enough when they killed him. "Aion!" Chrno spat. "What are you doing here?"

Aion straightened up, stabbing the demon sword into the earth as he looked at Chrno, "Well, I was just walking in the park when Sarin came out of no where and attacked me. Is that what you wanted to know? Or you, like Sarin, wanting to know how I am alive? Well, I'll answer that too. Only because I simply am. My fate has not declared me dead yet,"

"Bastard…" Rosette mumbled under her breath while glaring at Aion. Aion heard her, and turned to give her a sharp look, but said nothing to her.

"But Chrno, I wish to pick no fights with you. Our feud is over, and a new one has begun. And just because Sarin was your favorite amongst the Sinners, gives you no excuse to stop me," Aion growled, and then turned into his human guise once more and walked off. Chrno made no move to follow.

"Shouldn't have helped him…" Chrno muttered, turning to look at Rosette, "Come on, we're going back now. I think I've had enough excitement for one night, don't you?"

Rosette nodded, but Chrno could tell that she wanted to go after Aion. "Yeah…I guess. And someone must have noticed our absences. Especially after the incident with Sarin," Chrno nodded in response and then began walking back towards the Order. Rosette followed him quickly, wondering if anyone would ask them questions due to the fact that they had both been speaking with Sarin.

Heading back to the Order, Chrno opened the door and allowed Rosette to pass him. Just as he shut the door, he ran right into Father Remington. Both he and Rosette jumped in surprise at seeing him. Remington looking at both of them with hard eyes. "Where have you two been?" he demanded, his eyes narrowed.

"Out for a walk," Chrno replied, his own red eyes narrowing at the stern tone Remington was using. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I saw you speaking with that demon! Who was he? Why did he come into the Order, knowing what a risk he was taking?" Remington growled.

"Hm…well, his name is Sarin. Why he came into the Order, I cannot say. But you can ask Rosette," Chrno replied, looking down at the young exorcist, who had suddenly become very quiet. She looked at Chrno and Remington without saying anything, a troubled look in her eyes. "Well?" Chrno pressed. He knew very well that he might get hit for this later, but at least she would have to tell him with Remington standing there. In his mind's eye, he saw the look that Sarin had given Rosette the first time he had entered the Order. The sudden anger he felt towards the eighth Sinner made his blood boil.

"Hesaidhewantedtosaysorryforearilerandthathedidn'tmeantotscarethehelloutofmeandthathewasgoingtokillChrnowhenhegotthechancetoandthathedoesn'tusuallytreathumanwomenlikethat-ifhedecideshelikesthem," Rosette replied too fast for either Remington or Chrno to make out what she had said. They stared at her blankly. For a few moments there was silence, and then Chrno spat out, "What the hell? Repeat that-but slower,"

"Hmm…" Rosette mumbled, not wanting to repeat a single word that she had just said, but did anyway, in a defeated and quieter tone. "I said that he told me he wanted to say sorry for earlier and that he didn't mean to scare the hell out of me and that he was going to kill Chrno when he got the chance to. Sarin said he doesn't usually treat human woman like that-if he decides that…em…he likes them…" Rosette finished, looking at her feet. She wanted to get away from Chrno and Remington both. Already she could sense the waves of fury coming off of Chrno and could feel the blank stare of Remington on her. She did not dare look up, or move, barley breathing as she waited for a reaction.

It was Chrno who was the first to speak and actually do something. When he did speak, Rosette looked up, startled as he muttered under his breath, "That bastard! I'm gonna kill him," Rosette watched as Chrno was about to turn around and walk out the door, prepared to do the stupidest thing in his life, when Rosette suddenly reached out and wrapped her fingers around his arm. She gave his arm a hard yank and Chrno came stumbling back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rosette snapped. "We have two enemies out there at the moment and you think you can just go and try to kill one of them, while the other comes up and kills you?"

Chrno turned to look at her with heavy red eyes, not speaking because he saw the truth in Rosette's words. In his mind, however, he believed Aion wouldn't kill him…no, Aion would want to eliminate the biggest obstacle in whatever crazy plan he had cooked up now, first. Sarin, however, wouldn't even hesitate. He felt his burning wrath begin to subside and finally, he let his shoulders sag in defeat. "Hmm…"

"Two? Who's the second?" Remington asked. Chrno didn't allow Rosette to answer as he waved a hand in Remington's face and then walked off, up to his bedroom, still seething in rage towards the Sinner. Rosette sighed, also daring to abandon Remington as she shot after Chrno.

When she caught up to him, he looked down at her and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?" Chrno's voice was barley above a whisper, knowing that Rosette would prefer Remington not hear their conversation. "Do you know how dangerous that is?" he scolded.

Rosette looked at Chrno with sad eyes, full of regret, "I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you might do something stupid, Chrno. You almost did, which proves my suspicions…I didn't want to get you hurt. You know that Sarin can kill you easily, I know you do. And Aion…what if he plans to kill you still?"

Chrno sighed as they made their way up the stairs. "Aion won't try to kill me yet, Rosette. Not while Sarin is alive, anyway. But Rosette, that's beside the point. If you didn't tell me and I didn't know what kind of danger you were in, how am I supposed to protect you?"

"I don't need to be watched twenty four seven, Chrno," Rosette grumbled, looking away from the demon as they came to a hallway. Off to the left was her room. "…" she breathed, "Here's my stop,"

Rosette was about to walk down the corridor, when Chrno suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her, "Wait," he called in a quiet voice. Rosette turned her head to look over at Chrno with questioning eyes. Did he still want to go on with that conversation?

Before Rosette had a chance to ask, Chrno suddenly wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Rosette tensed in his arms, not expecting what came next when he pressed his lips against hers, whispering against her lips, "I'm just glad you're safe," and then released her and walked off. Rosette continued to stare at Chrno as he vanished into the dark hallway, leaving her by herself. Once she was sure he was gone, she reached up and touched her lips gently, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. This was another thing she hadn't expected.

-

Aion looked around him, taking in the dark shadows of the forest, keeping alert for any sign of movement. There was none. For a moment, he almost relaxed, but then the image of Sarin popped into his mind and his whole body went rigid. He couldn't let his guard down for a second. Sarin was out to kill, and if Aion knew his former leader, he knew the silence that Sarin killed with. Sarin was the shadows, the darkness, the evil that hung in the air. He was born of the night and struck only at night, when everyone's guard was at its weakest, and yet it's highest.

Aion reflected that he would be able to rest come morning. Sarin would have become virtually harmless under the sun and morning air. Sighing, he looked up at the sky and noted the position of the moon. It was nearly two o'clock. The sun would be up in six hours.

As he walked through the park, not daring to leave its protective forests because of the exorcist that roamed the night-not that he was afraid of them or their bullets, it was just that they would alert the Order that he was alive. Aion began to wonder if Chrno and his girlfriend, Rosette, had told the Order yet. He could never predict Chrno these days, as for the girl, she might have considering what a big mouth she seemed to have…if Chrno hadn't stopped her from saying anything.

Finally Aion leaned up against a tree, debating on what to do. All of the Sinners were dead except for him, Sarin, and Chrno. He and Chrno were not enough to kill Sarin. And if Aion knew Chrno, he would help kill Sarin when the demon started hitting on Rosette. Sarin had a record of doing things like that…

He closed his red eyes, but even as he did, every sense besides his eyesight came alive. He heard much more than usual when he concentrated on his surroundings hard enough. He could feel the vibrations on the ground, but he didn't sense any evil presence. Or demonic. Of course, Sarin, like he, had a way of hiding his presence from others when he didn't want to let anyone know he was there.

Aion, however, ignored the empty atmosphere and concentrated harder, spreading his search for the powerful demon. At last, after giving himself a rather harsh headache, he detected Sarin. _'Typical…'_ Aion thought when he realized Sarin was all the way across the park, and a little ways further at the Order. '_He's already found poor Rosette.'_

Opening his cold eyes, Aion yawned, feeling rather tired as he slumped down to the ground, pulling the cloak tighter around his shivering body. He didn't sleep though. Six hours was a long way away, but Aion could wait. He had waited longer than this many times before for rest that he had deliberately deprived himself of. He could and would do that again.

**A/N: Yay! I finished Chapter 7! And guess what!/? I have nearly completed chapter 8. Yes…I know, complain about having to wait for something that has been finished for a few days now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. XD. Well, I couldn't update cause I couldn't find my floppy disk. Now I have found it and so here is the update. Chapter Eight:**

**8. Complications With a Certain Clock**

**-Well there ya go! I've gotta go finish the chapter, which I think I might just make it longer than the rest, though I might not. Who knows? That you everyone who has read this and reviewed on it. I hope you continue to review, it gives me inspiration. Anyone know where I can download the Anime of Chrno Crusade for free? And does anyone know how to put a video on a PSP? Please tell me if you do! I really would like to know. I can't figure it out!**


	8. Complications With a Certain Clock

8. Complications With a Certain Clock

Rosette awoke later than usual the next day. She yawned, opening her eyes slowly, feeling rather lazy and wanting to drift back into the comforting confines of sleep. Just as she rolled over and snuggled under the warm covers once more, however, there was a soft knock on the door and then someone came in the room. She stubbornly refused to turn over to see who had just come into her room and closed her eyes tightly, gritting her teeth together. Maybe if she acted as if she were asleep, they would go away.

"I know you're awake, Rosette," a laughing voice sat from behind her. Rosette recognized it to be Chrno and grumbled something that Chrno didn't understand. He looked at her for a few moments, and then side glanced at the tray of food he held in his hand. Usually if Rosette smelled food, she'd attack him just to get to it. "Um…Rosette, are you sick?"

Rosette finally sat up, giving up on getting any sleep. She rubbed her eyes, not yet aware that Chrno had food with him. "No, why?" she mumbled, stretching. When Rosette opened her eyes, she noticed that food. Funny how she had failed to smell it…Rosette gave Chrno a hungry grin and then instantly lunged for the food. "Breakfast!" she gasped out, grabbing a biscuit off of the plate.

Chrno handed Rosette the plate, in fear of being splattered with food, and sat down on the edge of her bed. He watched her eat with no emotion in his maroon eyes, wondering silently how she ate so much. When Rosette had finally swallowed the last bite of her breakfast, she smiled, setting the plate aside. Chrno nearly fell off the bed at the question she asked, "Got anymore food?"

"No," he replied, deciding he would rather not fall off the bed. "But I do have a message from the Elder," he told her. At Rosette befuddled look, he explained, "About the clock. Even though we broke our contract, Rosette, that didn't fix anything. So I gave it to him a few nights ago so he could see if he could do anything with it. Apparently he found out a way to reverse the clock. The life that I took from you, can be given back, but…"

Rosette, who had for once, actually forgotten about her food, looked eager. When Chrno let his voice trail off, the eagerness in her eyes died and she looked at him, dread suddenly flowing through her. Had something gone wrong. "But what?" she questioned.

Chrno looked at her, "But…you have to find an Astral source. Something to connect the clock with. But it's not that simple. It has to be able to handle the flow of Astral energy without shattering. I was thinking that we might be able to use this," Chrno fumbled in his pockets for something, and then, finally drew out a thin gold chain. On the chain, a golden amulet rested, and encrusted on the amulet, was bright green gem. It glowed under the sunlight.

Rosette blinked, staring at the necklace for a moment, and then asked, "But how is that going to help?" she looked at it closer, reaching out for it. "How is a simple necklace going to work?" she took it in her fingers, looking at it closely.

Chrno looked at her for a few moments, not answering until she released the golden chain. "Because this is the last thing that remains of Shader. She gave me this two years ago when we happened to meet each other. When Sarin claimed that all of the Sinners except Aion, him, and me were dead, he was wrong. Shader is still alive, I'm sure of it. Se gave me this necklace when her companions just seemed to vanish, and then turn up dead and cut up within a week or so. So, finally, once she was on her own, she sought me out and paid me a visit. I don't think she's dead. I think she's hiding-like I've been doing, and considering how smart she is, it would be rather hard to find her if she thought really hard."

Rosette blinked, remembering the cat demon. She hadn't seemed particularly evil like the others. It just seemed as if she agreed with what Aion was doing, but didn't exactly approve of the method in which he was using to reach his goals. "Hmm…so what exactly did she use to make the necklace that makes you so sure it will work?"

Chrno bit his lip, "I don't know…I just think it will. And it's worth giving it a shot, isn't it?" he offered, clutching the necklace tightly as he leaned back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Of course it is! Come on, let's go see if it'll work!" she rushed, reaching for the necklace. Chrno didn't seem to notice as she tried to grab it from his fingers, but they were rapped tightly around it. Rosette grumbled something about Chrno spacing out on her, and reached through his fingers, now trying to grab the amulet. Rosette kept thinking that in his adult human form, Chrno seemed more resistant with everything, rather than when he was sixteen… She failed to notice the smile on Chrno's face. If she had, she more then likely would have hit him, figuring out that he hadn't spaced out at all.

Just as she finally grabbed hold of the amulet, not noticing that Chrno seemed to have loosened his hold on the necklace, but very much aware of how much it looked as if he were holding her hand, gave it a sharp yank. Rosette nearly swore when she realized the chain was wrapped around his fingers. Growling, she raised her free hand to smack him in the back of the head, just as the door opened.

Azmaria walked in and watched in silence as Chrno was smacked in the head by Rosette. The grin that was on his face broadened as Rosette instantly yanked her head away from his. Azmaria could barley suppress her laughter, but she managed to just smile, "Well, at least you're awake. Sister Kate wants to speak with you-both of you," Azmaria added, looking at Rosette, who was grumbling something that she couldn't understand. Chrno stood up, a necklace in his hand. He gave it to Rosette, grinning as he walked out the door with Azmaria. Rosette finally understood.

"Why you!" she spat. "Deceitful evil demon!" she growled as she shut her door and got dressed. Once she was fully dressed in her Sister uniform, she walked out into the hallway. Azmaria and Chrno were waiting for her. Chrno was explaining to Azmaria about the necklace. She stalked up to them and snapped, "Well, are we going or not?"

"Yes," Azmaria answered at once, and began heading down the hallway towards Sister Kate's office. Chrno walked ahead, a little ways away from Rosette, obviously fearing getting hit. Rosette glared at him for a few moments, before she let him slide with it and caught up to him.

Within a few minutes, they reached Sister Kate's office. Rosette opened the door and poked her head inside. Sister Kate sat at her desk as usual, while Remington was leaning against the wall. They seemed to have been talking about something they didn't want the others to hear, because they caught off and turned to face them. Rosette looked over at Sister Kate, blinking as she walked into the room. Chrno and Azmaria followed. "You wanted to see us, Sister Kate?" Rosette asked.

Sister Kate glared at them and nodded, "I did. Remington explained to me last night that you two saw a demon in the Order. –Oh, Azmaria, you can leave if you want too. Anyway, why you failed to report this last night is beyond me." Rosette bit her lip, knowing exactly where this was going.

Chrno, well, Chrno didn't even seem to be paying attention. Instead, he was digging in his pockets for something. Finally he took out the clock and the necklace. He handed them to Azmaria. "Will you take these to the Elder for me? Tell him I believe I've found something," he asked of the young Apostle. Azmaria nodded and left.

"Chrno!" Sister Kate snapped, "Did you hear a word I just said?" Chrno shook his head in a helpless 'no'. He could have sworn he had heard Remington laugh quietly. "Well, I'm not going to repeat myself. Now anyway, I want a full report from when you first saw the demon, to when you last saw the demon, and when you spoke to the demon, and what he said to you,"

"Hmm…" Chrno sighed absentmindedly. Sister Kate watched, her eye twitching as the demon walked over to the window and peered outside of it. A grin appeared on his face, like a child getting a mischievous idea, but then it vanished abruptly. "Sister Kate, does this count?" he asked, putting a finger against the window, trying to point to something.

Rosette ran over beside him and looked out the window. "Is he…sleeping?" Rosette asked, blinking in confusion. "I didn't know demons slept," she said more to herself than anyone.

Chrno looked at her, "What do you think I was doing all these years? I sleep and I'm a demon!"

"Yeah…well…Aion never slept," Rosette countered.

"That's because Aion's weird…" Chrno muttered as Remington and Sister Kate walked up to the window and looked outside. It took Sister Kate a moment to see Sarin perched in a tree, the scythe laid across his lap, obviously asleep. "I say he looks like a vampire,"

"But he's not upside down," Rosette pointed out. Chrno only shrugged, as if to say he didn't really care.

"Forget all this! There's a demon on the Order's grounds! We've got to kill it, Remington I want you to get the Sister's of Third Class and-" Sister Kate began, but Chrno cut her off, "And take no course of action. Nobody is to go near Sarin-especially not the Sisters. He might just change his…target, if you get what I mean," Chrno side glanced at Rosette, who looked rather uncomfortable. "But it's not likely. Not likely at all," he added, his red eyes narrowing.

"Well then you do something!" Sister Kate snapped.

Chrno only shook his head, "I'm not stupid Sister Kate. Even I wouldn't dare attempt a fight with Sarin-not yet at least. And I don't think he's going to wake up anytime soon, either," Chrno said, and then headed towards the door, as if nothing were wrong.

He was stopped by Remington, who had moved towards the door, "Chrno," he began, "I think you should start explaining everything you know about this demon." Remington ordered. Sister Kate nodded and put in, "I think you should too,"

Now it was Chrno's turn to look rather unnerved as he nodded, knowing he couldn't escape it. "Well, so far that I know…Sarin full name is Sarin the Sinner. He was the leader of the Sinner's, before Aion and all the rest of us betrayed him. In turn, after Aion was sure he had seen the last of Sarin, he wiped all of our memories and made us believe he was the strongest demon there was. But that wasn't true. Sarin's always been watching us. And now he's taking his revenge. He's killed all of the Sinners except for Shader-I believe she is alive-Aion, and me."

At Sister Kate and Remington's startled looks, Chrno realized his mistake. He had just told them Aion was alive! "What do you mean 'Aion'? He is dead, isn't he? But from where I just heard, you just seemed to claim that he was alive!" Sister Kate gasped out, looking over at Chrno incredulously.

Chrno blinked, scratching nose, "Um…uh…well, I planned to tell you," he said helplessly, looking at the floor. He fully expected to be yelled at like Rosette always was, Sister Kate realized. But as she looked at the demon standing in front of her, a thought passed through her mind. Chrno and Aion had once been 'brothers'. There might have been a reason behind Chrno not telling her sooner.

"You planned to tell me?" she mused. "Hm…Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked as calmly as she could. Already Sister Kate could feel the shocked gaze of Rosette on her as she spoke to Chrno calmly as if he were Remington or another really good person in the Order.

Chrno bit his lip and responded rather hesitantly, "Because…when we met him last night, he didn't really seem all that threatening. In fact, despite the threats he seemed to give me, he actually didn't seem as menacing as he used to. He told me that he was ready to fight Sarin whenever we felt like it, but I think he really wanted it to be soon. After all, all of his friends are dead now-and mine too…except Shader,"

Sister Kate nodded, ignoring Rosette sputtering, "Wh-What? You aren't yelling at him?" her voice was shocked and she looked over at Sister Kate for a moment, and then at Remington. His face was passive, and seemed to only be looking at Chrno. But his eyes were narrowed like they always had been.

"I see…when do you plan to attack Sarin?" Sister Kate questioned. "Is it anytime soon?" she sat back down at her desk, picking up a pen as she spoke.

Chrno blinked and glanced over at Rosette, uncertainly. "I…uh…it's not my decision," he finally said, looking back over at Rosette, as if for guidance. Rosette stared at Chrno, mouthing, "Wh-Why do I have to decide?"

Chrno, understanding, replied simply, "Because you're the one who's in the most danger here. Not me, not Aion, not Shader, not the Order-you. And you know it," Chrno responded simply. "Don't forget, you're his 'target'."

Rosette looked at Chrno for a few seconds, before groaning, "Don't remind me!" she murmured, looking up at the ceiling, and then back out the window. A look of surprise crossed her face when she noticed the spot where Sarin had been sleeping, was vacant. She stared at it a few seconds longer, and then turned to find Sister Kate, Remington, and Chrno looking at her. Remington's eyebrow was raised.

"I'm curious to know, Chrno. What do you mean by 'target'? And how does that make Rosette the one who is in most danger?" Remington question, his blue eyes sliding over to Chrno, who had sat down in a chair.

"It means that Sarin is after Rosette. She is in the most danger because she is close to me, and Sarin likes to pick at weak spots like that. Aion has none, and so I would imagine he'd pick Rosette. And for the fact that she is around his age and a human woman. And for that fact, it is something that will create dilemmas and…problems," Chrno said idly, his red eyes penned on Rosette. His whole body seemed to have tensed as he said the words, a protective aura coming off of him as he stared at Rosette.

For the first time, Rosette felt unsettled by Chrno, especially as he stared at her in a certain way. Making her feel like he meant something deeper in his words. And remembering last night, in the hallway, when he had kissed her, she believed he did.

"Do you mean that Sarin actually likes human woman-and chose Rosette?" Remington finally spoke, his voice full of awe, yet slightly choked, as if he had been caught off guard.

"You know, you're undying vigilance towards the girl is quite upsetting," a bemusing voice spoke. It sounded rather muffled. Everyone, at first wondered where it came from, except Rosette, who had spotted the dark figure in front of the window right off.

Chrno, seeing Sarin hovering in front of the window, animosity pouring into his veins. His crimson colored eyes flashed and he was in front of the window in a flash, standing in front of Rosette, shielding her from Sarin's view. Their eyes locked and a silent message seemed to pass between them as Sarin's black scythe appeared in his hands. Chrno did nothing however; knowing very well he had two guns backing him up. Remington and Sister Kate's gun were aimed directly at Sarin.

Sarin smirked at Chrno, "Well, seeing as you fail to speak to me, I must be off. Can't keep Aion waiting much longer, can I? Of course…first I must find a place to sleep. The tree was rather uncomfortable. Good-bye for now fellow Sinner. Rosette, hem, hem" Sarin waved to the exorcist who was glaring at him. He grinned wickedly at her and then vanished in a torrent of shadow.

Just as Sister Kate and Remington were about to say something, the door burst open. Azmaria came over to Chrno and Rosette, the pocket watch and necklace in her hand. "The Elder figured out what to do rather quickly!" she told them cheerfully, handing Chrno the clock and Rosette the necklace. It should work just fine now. Chrno, the Elder says that each time you use your power, Rosette's life will return to her little by little. He said it will sap your strength only so much, so much that you'll barley miss it, I mean," Azmaria explained quickly. And then the young Apostle turned to face Sister Kate and Remington with an innocent smile, "Sorry for barging in. I just knew how much Chrno and Rosette wanted them back." The Apostle noted the guns that were at the two's sides, but said nothing as she left.

"Hmph," Chrno muttered, pulled the clock around his neck. "That was rather fast." Seeing as Rosette was having difficulties putting on her necklace, he helped her. Once it was in place, he turned to Sister Kate, "Have any questions about that?" he asked, glancing over at the window.

Both just shrugged and shook their heads, "No, Chrno," Sister Kate began, "I don't. But I do have a question for Rosette. When do you plan to go hunting for Sarin?"

Rosette grinned and replied, "Right now, so I can strangle him for that-and for last night," she replied, her voice suddenly icy and cold despite her grin as she headed out the door without dismissal, dragging Chrno, who followed. They were going to hunt down Sarin.

"And we're coming with you," a voice said from beside them. Chrno and Rosette turned their heads to see Joshua and Azmaria looking at them expectantly, there faces determined. Instantly he realized there was no use in arguing, so he just nodded.

"Good, now we'll get packed and meet you by the gate!" Azmaria put in and then dashed off to her room, while Joshua went to his.

"I wanna come!" a new voice put in. "This place is boring!" Chrno rolled his eyes when he recognized Amy's voice. He turned to look at her, along with Rosette.

"Why? Don't you even know where we're going?" Rosette asked, her voice slightly confused as she scratched her head.

"Of course not, but I'm coming," Amy replied stubbornly.

Both of them sweat dropped and Chrno spoke up after a moment's hesitation, "Well, we're going to find Sarin and Aion. And hopefully we'll run into Shader along the way. I guess you can come-but you're carrying your own luggage-if you ask Sister Kate,"

Sister Amy gave Chrno a look, "And what good Sister wouldn't carry their own luggage?" she inquired. Chrno pointed to Rosette and Amy giggled, "I said 'good' Sister," that earned a glare from Rosette, but the exorcist remained silent. "Okay, I'll go ask Sister Kate,"

"If you can come, hurry and meet us by the gates. We'll give you fifteen minutes," Chrno replied and then began walking towards the entrance of the building. Rosette rolled her eyes and went off to her room to get ready. She had to remind herself that Chrno didn't have anything to wear except for the black leather clothes he had on at the moment. She watched him go, the black cape swishing behind him.

As she walked back to her room, a thought entered her mind that made her blush ferociously when she thought it, _'And those clothes make him look very sexy,'_ Rosette hurried into her room and began packing, trying to forget the thought. But it was rather hard to forget something like that…

**A/N: Hi again! So I finished this chapter at last! Longest one so far! Hem, hem, I couldn't resist putting that thought in there by Rosette. It was too tempting. Yeah, yeah, I laugh like Sarin, who cares? Not me! Hm…I wanna watch the Anime so bad! I'm hoping to save up to 80 dollars by the time Christmas comes so right after Christmas, I can get my Grandma to let me order it off the internet. Knowing her, she would as long as I had the money. Hem, hem. She doesn't even know what it's about. She doesn't approve of things about demons cause it has stuff to do with Satin. I'm Christian, for any who are curious, and my family is heavy on that-cept my mom. She's Christian like me and doesn't care if I watch things having to do with demons and Satin-Lucifer-unless it is really bad. Hem…Oh yeah, I reading through this, and found a few mistakes, made me laugh. And when Sarin (and me) laugh, it is not the word 'hem' like the hem of a dress or something, it's h-e-m. Say him with your mouth closed and you got it! And just do that twice and there ya go! Sounds rather mocking to me! XD. Ah well, what do you care? XD. Hmm…Next chapter:**

**9. The Hunt Begins**

**And for those who might be wondering, no I haven't forgotten Rosette's birthday is within the next week. Does anyone even know her real birthday? I don't. So I'm saying that it is…how about today? Monday, November 13? **

**R&R. Bye!**


	9. The Hunt Begins

9. The Hunt Begins

Chrno was waiting at the gate, looking around the grounds. Some of the Sisters were walking around, chatting between one another. At first, he had tried to block their conversations out, but now, he knew it was impossible. The guards, meanwhile, kept eyeing him wearily, but said nothing. Yawning out of boredom, he looked back at the Order's doors and saw that Rosette had finally decided to come out. "About time…" he muttered with mock irritability.

Rosette came up beside him, carrying a large backpack that looked rather heavy. Chrno guessed she had packed all of her guns and ammunition as well as clothes. "Well, I think we might be waiting here a while," she commented, setting the backpack down on the ground. Chrno's suspicions were confirmed with a loud 'clunk' came from the backpack as metal rattled against metal.

"Why?" he asked, "I gave them fifteen minutes and they only have five more minutes left," Chrno saw Rosette grinning.

"Cause Joshua can't find his favorite book-the one he's been reading for about a week now," her voice was cracked with laughter as she unzipped her backpack and took out the book. It was rather large and heavy looking.

Seeing it, Chrno looked at it and then gasped out, "Rosette!" he tried to reach for the book to take it from her, but she yanked away, grinning mischievously. "Would you just give me the book?" he growled, trying to grab the book again. Rosette, once again, pulled away from him, just out of his reach.

"No," she replied simply, grinning. Chrno rolled his eyes and backed off, figuring he could grab the book when she was off guard. Leaning back up against the brick wall, he stared at the Order doors. When he was sure Rosette hadn't noticed, he quickly snatched the book from her hands. She felt it's weight vanish, and looked back at Chrno. He didn't have the book, no, he was staring at the gates. "Chrno! What'd you do with the book?" she demanded.

Chrno smirked at her, "It's in your backpack," he responded lightly. Rosette blinked, wondering how he had put it there so fast, and looked down at where she had dropped her backpack. It wasn't there either. Chrno grinned, and held up the backpack in his right hand, and then slung it around his shoulder.

"Have any of you guys seen my book?" Joshua asked, coming up beside them. Chrno had realized he and Azmaria had come out. Chrno nodded while Rosette shook her head. Joshua, deciding to ignore his sister, turned to Chrno, "Where?"

"Rosette took it. It's in the backpack," he replied calmly, looking away from Joshua. And image of Joshua holding a gun to his face flashed through his mind, but then vanished instantly. He pushed the memories away, not wishing to remember any-okay, well _some_ of them…

"All right then! Let's go!" Sister Amy called out cheerfully, approaching the awaiting people and demon.

Chrno nodded, "Okay, where are we going to search first?" he asked, looking at Rosette. She shrugged, "How should I know?"

He narrowed his eyes, but nodded. Sarin could be anywhere and Chrno didn't even know if he was in New York any more. For a moment, he closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to pick up any demonic auras. He could sense the bright and powerful Apostles' auras that stood beside him, and he could sense many human auras, but none demonic or even relatively demonic. Sighing, his eyes snapped open and he shook his head, "They're not in New York, I can tell you that much."

"Then where are we going to look?" Azmaria asked as they passed through the gates, ignoring the guards and watching Sisters.

"Maybe we should try finding Shader or Aion, first, instead of Sarin. They're the ones he's after-and me, but we won't accidentally run into him, I guarantee it." Chrno explained, "The last time I saw Shader was when I was down in Tennessee, and I asked her where she planned to go, but she didn't tell me. I think she was heading further west. Maybe we should try Arkansas or something,"

"I say we go to Las Vegas!" Sister Amy suddenly suggested.

They all turned to look at the young Sister with questioning stares. "Why there? What makes you so sure they'd be there?" Azmaria asked, her tone had a slight edge to it, but it sounded slightly afraid. She had bad memories at that place.

Sister Amy didn't seem to notice Azmaria's unease, like everyone else, instead, continued, "Because, from what I've heard about the place, everyone thinks that that place is heavily populated in demons. If someone were searching for one demon in particular, it would be quite difficult to find one demon when so many are in that place, hiding. Get my point?"

"Hmm…" Rosette replied, and then nodded, but it was Chrno who gave the final answer, "Yes, I understand. Okay then, I guess we'll start off to Las Vegas, and then we'll head east, makes perfect sense," he mumbled the last part, but agreed to go to Las Vegas first, considering it did have a rather high possibility of Shader hiding out there. The place might have suited Shader anyway, with so much technology.

Chrno looked at her, and then asked, "So how are we going to get there?" he asked, looking at each of them in turn. "And before any of you suggest it, _no I am not going to take you there!_" Azmaria and Rosette giggled, looking at one another.

"Yeah, I think we might be a little much for you to carry anyway," Azmaria said between laughs. "Yeah," Rosette agreed, grinning at Chrno, who looked at her sourly.

"Whatever, you two. I say we take the train!" Sister Amy put in. Chrno groaned and muttered something that sounded like, "I hate trains…" Sister Amy looked at him, glaring, and then snapped, "All right Mister Demon Boy! If you hate trains so much, and sense I can't stand heights-at least on airplanes and whatnots-then you get to fly us all to Las Vegas no complaining!"

"Rreeehh!" Chrno grumbled, holding up his hand and batting it at Sister Amy, making a cat-like noise. "Fine, we'll take the damn train."

"Good!" Joshua, Azmaria, Sister Amy, and Rosette shouted in agreement and then started out towards the train station, which was a little ways away.

-

Once they had reached the train station, Chrno paid for the tickets, counting his money. He was already running out. Sighing, he boarded the train with the rest of them. They all climbed into one compartment and shut the door. Chrno stuffed their things up in the racks above their heads and sat down next to Rosette. "You know, I'm almost out of money…"

Azmaria looked at him, surprised, "But you had at least four-hundred dollars when we met you down in Tennessee!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, and buying eight train tickets isn't cheap." Chrno responded smugly, looking out the window. He watched as the buildings flew by, but he wasn't really paying attention to them.

"I didn't notice…" Rosette muttered sarcastically and then looked over at Chrno, grinning, "I'm hungry," she said. Everyone in the compartment turned to look at her, staring in disbelief.

"You just ate not even thirty minutes ago!" Chrno gasped out, staring at the young exorcist, who nodded in agreement. Her brother, Joshua, rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded like 'pig', and then returned to his book which Chrno had returned to him.

Rosette, who had obviously heard her brother, snarled in his face, "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" she leapt to her feet, lunging at the young blonde, but Chrno was quick to react. Before Rosette even got seven inches in front of her brother, his hand shot out and grabbed the back of her shirt. Chrno yanked her back down into sitting position.

"Drop it Rosette. You're going to get us thrown off the train," Chrno growled, looking at the exorcist with a stern expression. "And there's no way in hell I'm flying you there!"

"Fine! Be that way!" Rosette snapped back, slapping Chrno in the head.

The demon rubbed the spot and then snapped back, "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot!"

"Pig!"

"Huh! Creepy person!"

"I beg to differ!"

Rosette glared, rolling up her sleeve threateningly, "Oh you'll be begging all right, but not for difference!" she snarled, leaping at Chrno from where she sat and hit him-_hard­-_over the head.

"Oh boy…they're at it again…" Azmaria muttered, but she was laughing softly.

**A/N: I am so sorry for the long update! Please forgive me! I've been working on a new book of mine, Blade of Blood, and also Shadowed Love, one of my other fan fictions. It's Final Fantasy VII. Forgive me! The next chapter will be up soon! Promise!**

**Oh, and please keep the reviews coming. Any ideas? Tell me and they'll help, promise!**

**Ja ne!**


	10. Passing Through San Francisco

_A/N: Ack! Sorry for the wait! I've been busy on another story called Blade of Blood. But I'm very, very thankful for the all reviews I've recieved! thanks!! If you want to read Blade of Blood, the link to the story is on my bio. Click 'homepage' , but I may just put the link up on there... _

_It's a fan fiction website and you have to join to read the story, but I can give you a summary-when this chapter is finished. I'm sure you want to read it. (the chapter I mean)_

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10. Passing Through San Francisco **

Chrno awoke hours later as the train slowed. They were at another stopping point. Yawning, he sat up straight, his face feeling chilled from the cool window that he had rested his head on. But as he began to sit up, he felt something warm shift beside him, making him look down. His red eyes widened for a second, and then returned to normal as he realized Rosette was sleeping, her head resting on his shoulder. Sighing, he relaxed his tensed body and sat back, not wanting to wake her. She would need sleep because if he was correct, this new journey was going to be ten times as worse as the last.

He yawned again, glancing around the crowded compartment. Everyone was sleeping, unaware that the train had stopped. Chrno's eyes slid over to Azmaria. She was sleeping calmly next to Joshua, her own head resting on the boy, seeing as there was no where else to put it except on a cold metal door, which he was sure she didn't want to lean against. Joshua's hot breath misted the cool window, but he didn't seem to mind that the young Apostle was leaning on him.

Smiling to himself, he wondered if Azmaria and Joshua had any feelings for one another. He had noticed that they were usually together and talking more with one another than others. Turning away from the two young Apostles, he looked over to where Sister Amy was sleeping. Only, she wasn't there.

Immediately his whole body went rigid, but then he relaxed, telling himself to calm down. He waited for her to return, guessing she had only gone to the bathroom. As the minutes ticked by and no return of Sister Amy, Chrno began to grow weary once more. Yawning, he closed his eyes, subconsciously wrapping an arm around Rosette's shoulders as he well into a deep, dreamless sleep.

-

When Chrno woke up, sunlight was spilling through the window. He yawned, wondering what time it was. Looking out the window, he knew it was only just becoming morning. No one was awake yet. Turning to look over at Sister Amy, he found her still asleep. She was back. Stella, Joshua, and Azmaria were all still asleep, along with Rosette.

WAIT A SECOND!/! Stella was here? When had she gotten here? Chrno blinked in utter bewilderment. She must have come on the train and found them when they were all sleeping or something because Chrno had never heard her. Oh well…he'd just have to ask her later

He sighed, pulling the young exorcist closer to him. She felt so warm…Chrno closed his eyes pleasantly, wondering if he would get the crap beat out of him later when Rosette woke up.

There was a low sound in the compartment. He just had to ask…

-

Rosette opened her blue eyes drowsily. At first she didn't notice she was using Chrno as a pillow as she yawned and looked over at the demon. Her eyes were still misted with sleep. "Good Mornin', Chrno," she said, yawning.

But in mid-yawn, she stopped. That was when she noticed Chrno had his arm around her shoulders and that she had been leaning on him. Instantly she shoved him away, making Chrno knock his head into the glass as he let out a sound of annoyance through closed lips. Sitting up straight, he looked at Rosette.

Chrno opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Stella had woken up. "Eh? Can't a woman get some sleep? What's with all da ruckus?" she demanded, looking at them both.

-

Chrno looked over at Rosette and noticed that she was blushing slightly. "Ah nothin'. I just woke up…a little surprised is all. And uh, Stella, when did you get here? No, no, _how_ did you get here?" Rosette said, waving her hand as if to wave Stella off the subject.

Instead the jewel witch grinned. "I'll tell you later when you're all awoke. And anyway-Aww…Well hey, least it wasn't Sister Amy over there that you were leaning on!" Stella joked, pointing to the sleeping sister.

Rosette instantly grew angry. Chrno swallowed and scooted as far away from her as possible. Which was up to the window. "Why you…!" Rosette snarled, about to attempt to strange Stella, but at that moment, Joshua awoke, yawning widely.

"Eh? Why you what? Huh? Did I miss somethin'?" Joshua asked, looking at Rosette with confusion. Meanwhile Stella was mentally yelling 'THANK YOU!' for Joshua waking up. She so did not want to start her morning like this!

"No, nothin' important," Chrno responded. And then he turned back to the window, glancing up at the sky. "Hmm…maybe we should just go ahead and wake everyone up," he suggested.

"Nah, I'm good." Joshua replied. "I'm still tired and so I'm gonna sleep some more," he said, leaning back against his seat, careful not to wake Azmaria. He had looked a little disoriented, as if he were still half asleep. No wonder he hadn't noticed Stella…

"Me too! These two are too loud to sleep!" Stella commented, keeping a close eye on Rosette until she closed her eyes ready to sleep once more.

"Hmm…Maybe they're right. It _is_ only five o'clock in the morning…" Chrno said to himself.

"WHAT?" Rosette scream-whispered. "You woke me up at five o'clock in the morning?"

Chrno gulped and responded, "N-No…I-I mean, well, not purposely!" Poor Chrno, he had no where to go.

WACK! Rosette smacked him in the head, glaring at him still as she said quietly, "And this time don't wake me up! I'm tired!"

'_I didn't notice.'_ Chrno thought mentally, but nodded, saying, "Okay…I never meant to wake you up in the first place,"

"Would you two just shut up?" Stella's irritated voice cut through the conversation. They both fell silent. Now Chrno wondered, once more, how Stella had found them. He knew she had been coming to the Order. Was it possible she had been there without anyone knowing and had snuck onto the train? Maybe, and he knew she was capable of pulling such a stunt off too.

Sighing, he sat there, waiting for dawn. Their next stop was coming up, but they were far from their destination…

-

Once everyone had woken up, Chrno turned to Stella. "Okay, _now_ can you explain how you got here?" he asked, his voice sounding somewhat irritated and questioning.

The jewel witch opened one lazy eye and spoke, "Hm? Why so grumpy?" Azmaria and Joshua were staring at her, not registering at first, that Stella was really sitting there.

Before Chrno could reply, Joshua asked, "How'd you get here?"

Stella shot him a look and responded, "Weeellll, I just happened to be on the same train and saw you guys getting on before I could get off in New York, and just stayed on," she replied, but it was obvious she was lying.

"Yeah right and I'm a monkey's uncle!" Rosette snapped, "Now how'd you get here?" She wasn't in the best of moods either…

"What's with you people? You're all in such bad moods!" Stella commented under her breath, but replied to Rosette, "Well, you don't have to know that information just yet, now do you?"

"Grr…"

"Oh forget it! Anyway, who's hungry?" Joshua asked, grinning. Rosette reacted as if someone had thrown a firecracker at her-that was lit. "I AM!" she raised her hand, jumping out of her seat and successfully throwing Chrno out of his. "And he is too!"

"But demons don't need to eat…or do they?" Sister Amy commented.

Rosette glared at her while Chrno picked himself up, rubbing his forehead. "Ya didn't have to do that you know!" he snapped, sitting back down on the seat.

"Would you two just shut up! Okay, fine, we'll eat. When we get there," Joshua replied calmly. Now everyone turned to look to at him, their eyes twitching. "You'll live," he said simply, and then turned to the window.

"No I won't!" Rosette snapped.

Now Joshua turned to look at her, "Grr! You're _always_ hungry, Rosette!"

"Amen to that…" Chrno muttered, shaking his head, "Sometimes it's good to be a demon. Don't need food!" he said, and then grinned, "At least for long periods of time,"

Now Rosette turned from where she was standing to him the meanest glare she could muster, and then-WHAM! Chrno felt his head snap to the side with the force of the slap she had given him across the face. "Shut up Chrno!" she snarled in his face.

Chrno blinked and turned to look at Rosette, touching the offending red mark on his face. He nodded meekly, panic flashing in his eyes. What the hell had gotten into Rosette? Turning away from them, he decided to leave it be. No sense in upsetting her.

"Hey guys, look. We're in San Francisco!" Amy pointed out, her eyes shining, "We oughta go see the Order's boss over here and ask if he's seen Sarin!"

Chrno blinked, "But we're going to Las Vegas…"

"We can afford to stop," Amy snapped, grinning as the train began to slow for another stop.

* * *

_Okay, as promised;_

_The summary for **Blade of Blood**:_

_Amy and Kail, two friends, but very different people, are both killed in a car wreck. But for some reason, neither of them died. They just came back to life in the 1700s. How? Amy isn't sure, but she is seperated from Kail. Even so, she doesn't realize he's gone because she's injured badly and dislerious of her surroundings. She doesn't even realize she's in a different time. Anyway, she meets a mage named Sarin and a kind old man named Onikia. _

_Sarin takes care of her wounds while she is unconiscous. When Amy awakes, Sarin is gone and she is left alone with onikia. She asks him questions, wondering what had happened. Once a few things are cleared up, she, unwittingly, heals her wounds that had broken and gashed her rib cage. Amy is a special person. She is what many call an 'Angel'. But she is no ordinary Angel. She is the angel of heaven. _

_When Kail finds her in the village, the Fallen angel appears. the Angel of Hell. The Angel of Hell needs the Angel of Heaven to rule the world. If he has the Risen Angel under his wing, then he can steal her powers. But things don't always work out as planned..._

_The **Demon Wolf**, a feared creature born of the fire, anger, hate, and murder. He waits for release, longing for it. His human half, however, will not let him escape from his bindings. So the human is killed and he is set free. Still, life is never fair..._

_Amy and Kail were in danger. The Demon Wolf, Bloodfang, had suffered greatly once. A long time ago from the loss of a young woman he had had a short accqutance with. her name had been Chloe. Chloe was the Werewolf Angel. This was how the human within Bloodfang's black soul had been born, sheding a small light that refused to die. So, as he runs after Amy, who had escaped Sarin, he makes a decision. Something that would effect everything. But he didn't know the horrors of his own actions._

_-_

_It's really hard to put into a summary when it's not complete. Snekochan's reading/read it and she says it's really good. I set it in Newfoundland for Kail and Amy's friends: Kristen, Grace, James, and Stella. (yeah...I used her name cause I couldn;t think of another. And don;t bug me!/! I know it's spell: Satella, but I can't stop spelling it: Stella. Oh well..._

_And Kail and Amy's parts are set in Britian. the rural part...I may change it to Japan...I dunno._

_Well, hope you like. And if you do decide to join the website and read it, then you'll notice there's a lot of things I left out of the summary. _


	11. Blood

Hey! Merry Christmas! Well, sorry for the wait. I'm working ons o many things at the moment...

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11. Blood**

Chrno looked around, taking in the view of the huge city that was San Francisco. '_Good,'_ he thought, '_They've repaired what I did so long ago…'_ Chrno had destroyed San Francisco mercilessly, out of total anger. In the process, he had drained much of Rosette's life. He would not do that again. Not ever again. But now, lucky for them, the contract had been broken.

"Hey, Chrno!" Sister Amy's sharp voice cut through his grim thoughts. "Are you coming?"

Blinking, Chrno realized that the others were already walking through the city and were some good twenty feet away. Grinning sheepishly, he replied, "Uh, yeah, sorry!" and ran to catch up with them.

When he reached them, Rosette hit him over the head, grumbling something that sounded like, "You're too slow…"

He looked away from her, and over at Joshua, who was looking at the city with a grim expression. "I'm beginning to wish we didn't come here," he said quietly, so quietly almost no one heard him, but Chrno picked up the words with his sensitive.

"Brighten up, Joshua. I don't much enjoy coming back here, either, but let's not be sticks in the mud. Besides, the past is all behind us, right?" Chrno tried to comfort the boy who had a glint of terrible sadness in his eyes.

Joshua looked up, smiling, "Yeah," he replied, "The past is behind us," he repeated, and began walking with the others as cheerful as ever.

-

Sarin cracked his knuckles, feeling a stir in his blood. His black eyes narrowed as he clutched the scythe in his right hand. He crouched in the shadows, his eyes pinned on a young girl walking through the crowded streets. '_She is so unaware of the danger that lurks in front of her,'_ he thought with pity, _'Such a worthless human. Poor girl. Too bad death is calling,'_

He stood up as the girl walked past the shadows he had been hiding in. Swift as lightning, he struck out with his scythe. A look of pain and terror flashed in the girl's dilated eyes. Blood splattered the sidewalk and walls. Specks on the crimson liquid fell on Sarin's face. Streaks of the warm, bloody crimson ran down the girl's side.

He yanked the scythe out of her limp body, laughing, "Hem, hem. Poor girl. Never had a chance in the world," he said to himself as he withdrew into the shadows and vanished just as a young man came running up to the girl, tears staining his cheeks. His daughter had just been killed…

-

"So where are we going?" Stella asked, glancing over at the others.

"Have you already forgotten?" Rosette gawked from where she stood beside Chrno, her blue eyes narrowed with disbelief.

"…if I hadn't, then why would I be asking?" Stella smarted, glaring back at Rosette.

"We're going to see the Order!" Amy piped up from the back.

"Oh…yeah,"

Meanwhile Chrno wasn't really listening to them. He heard something off in the distance. A loud wail of anguish. It was a man…he heard other screams coming from the same direction. His red eyes narrowed, something was going on nearby, but what? "Do any of you hear that?" he asked, looking at the others, but nearly fell over with what he saw. Rosette and Stella and Amy were all bickering, Joshua and Azmaria watching with restrained faces, as if they were trying not to laugh. "I'll take that as a no…"

As they continued to fight, Chrno grew frustrated. His red eyes narrowed, but he did nothing to stop them-yet.

Seven minutes later…

"WOULD YOU GUYS JUST SHUT THE HELL UP AND LISTEN FOR A MOMENT?" Chrno yelled at the bickering trio.

"Who are you telling to shut up?" Amy snapped back. "You're the one whose yelling!"

"Maybe I wouldn't be if you would shut your mouths and listen!" Chrno snarled.

"How about you all just calm down," Joshua suggested from the sidelines. All four of them gave him sour looks, but Chrno didn't really object to the idea of Stella, Amy, and Rosette calming down.

"Grrr…" they all growled, but for his own sake-and protection-Chrno ignored them and asked again, "Earlier, did you guys hear anything…unusal? Someone screaming?" he looked at them all, his red eyes full of curiosity.

"No, why? Did you?" Sister Amy questioned, unlike the others, she was not yet used to Chrno's acute hearing.

"Where did you hear it at, Chrno?" Rosette asked, reaching for her gun instinctively. Chrno, noticing this, motioned for her to leave it. "But," Rosette protested, "What if it's a demon?"

"I heard the screams eight minutes ago from that direction. I pretty sure the demon didn't stick around. Come on, let's go," Chrno motioned for the others to follow as he began running towards the place where he had thought the screams were coming from. Along the way, he could hear sirens. Something terrible had certainly happened.

Upon reaching the scene, Chrno felt sick. Laying next to a young man, was the limp, blood soaked form of a young girl. There was a stab wound coming out of her back and stomach. "What the hell?" he swore as he hurried over to the girl, but as he did, someone stepped out into his way. It was a police officer. Chrno hadn't noticed.

"No one is aloud past this point," the police officer stated firmly.

"Let me through!" Chrno persisted. He was certain this was the work of a demon. He just needed a closer look at the body…

"I can't do that. This is a crime scene and we're investigating it at the moment," the police officer pushed Chrno backwards.

But being an extremely stubborn demon at heart, Chrno was not going to stand by and let some police officer tell him what he could and couldn't do. Not when a demon was involved. The others caught up with him just as he tried to dodge the police officer, but just as he made a move, the police officer pulled a gun on him. "Sir, move back. You've know business of the girl if you didn't know her, understand?"

Chrno grumbled something inaudible as he backed away from the gun. "Chrno!" came Rosette's voice. "What are you doing?" she came up beside him and saw the gun. Jumping with a start, Rosette snapped at the police officer, "Put that gun away! We're part of the Magdalan Order. We're here to check out the crime scene and see if a demon might have done this! It's our job after all!"

"Are you part of the San Francisco Order?" the police officer asked, baffled.

"I am!" Amy panted, running up to them. "I'm part of it!"

The police officer blinked and nodded, "Hello, Sister Amy. All right, I'll let you pass, but your friend here, needs to work on his behavior."

Chrno sighed, rolling his eyes as he hurried over to the girl's side. The father looked at him briefly and then asked in a broken voice, "Wh-What happened to my daughter?"

Chrno swallowed, and responded in a quiet tone, "I don't know yet, sir. Just let me do my job and we'll find out," he replied. But in truth, as soon as Chrno touched the body, he felt the demonic presence of a demon. The demon had killed her swiftly. It was a very powerful demon. Carefully, Chrno turned the girl over and inspected the wound. His fears were confirm upon first sight of the wound.

Rosette came over to him and crouched next to him, whispering, "Do you know who did this?"

Chrno nodded slowly and looked up at her, "It was a demon…A very powerful demon,"

Rosette's blue eyes widened, "Do you mean Sarin?" she gasped out.

"Maybe…but we're done here. The demon isn't here anymore." Chrno stood up, wiping the blood on his black pants and looked down at the dead girl's father. "Don't worry, we'll find who did this to your daughter and we'll catch them, okay?"

The father nodded mutely and went back to grieving for his lost daughter. With his job done, Chrno walked over to the others. "Find anything?" Stella asked.

"It looks like stopping in San Francisco was a good idea after all. Sarin is here, but where, I can't really say," Chrno told them. "I think we'll be stayed here for a couple of days. But we're still going to search for Shader. Something attracted him here and it might just be her."

* * *

R&R

Have any of you ever heard of Lucifer's Angel by The Rasmus??


	12. Blood Part II

**12. Blood Part II**

Chrno and the others spent the night at a hotel in San Francisco, but Chrno found himself unable to sleep. Sarin was somewhere in San Francisco and something had lured him to the large town. What had it been? Could Shader possibly be in San Francisco? Chrno wondered thoughtfully as he stared up at the dark ceiling in one of the three rooms they had rented. He and Joshua were in one room, while Rosette and Amy were in another and Stella and Azmaria were in the last room. At first, they had all fought over who was staying in which room, well the girls had anyway. It had already been decided that the boys should have a room so the girls could have their 'privacy'.

Sighing heavily, he rolled onto his side in the bed, his red eyes traveling over to the window. The large city loomed over him, its bright lights shattering the darkness around Chrno. It was too bright for sleep, he decided. As he lay there, he became so absorbed in his troubled thoughts, he didn't hear the people coming down the hall until he heard their conversation. "Yeah, I hear there's a demon in San Francisco," a female voice said.

Chrno sat up in bed, his head snapping over towards the door. "Hm, yeah, they say that the girl who was murdered was murdered by the demon. Some of the Order checked the scene out, but I don't think they found anything," another female voice responded.

"That's why I'm going to join the Order and be the best Sister out there. I can help out with solving things. But I really want to help out San Francisco. Lately there have been too many killings because of demons,"

"Yeah. I'm gonna start killing demons too,"

The voices faded as they reached the end of the hall, but Chrno never stopped staring at the door, his mind reeling with new questions. Why hadn't New York heard about all of these killings? And were there really that many demons in San Francisco, so that the public began to find out? Climbing out of bed, Chrno made up his mind.

Glancing over at Joshua, who was sound asleep and unaware of what Chrno was about to do, Chrno nodded to himself. Good, Joshua was still asleep. Curling his fingers into a fist, Chrno walked over to the large window and opened it. Climbing up onto the windowsill, he summoned his powers.

Chrno was grateful for his horns as he became his true form. Once his transformation was complete, he took one last look at Joshua, and then jumped.

-

Aion sighed as sat on top of one of the building, his eyes looking up at the sky. He had left Las Vegas after learning Chrno would be a little 'delayed' and had decided to check things out. He had discovered more than he had bargained for though. Sarin was nearby, but the Sinner's target was not Aion, nor Chrno. Standing up from where he was sitting, he climbed down from the roof and swung into an open window. Landing silently on the floor, he straightened and looked at the demon who was sitting at the table, staring at a sheet of paper in her hands.

"Shader, hurry up, Sarin's coming," he warned.

The cat-demon looked up from the paper she had been reading and nodded swiftly, looking worried. "Aion, why didn't we ever know this? Why did you erase our memory?" she asked her leader quietly as she headed over to him.

Aion narrowed his eyes and replied to the usually enthusiastic demon, "Because it was for your own good. Know that and except it. Now come on-and bring that paper. Once we're out of Sarin's path, destroy it," he ordered as he headed out the door.

Shader ran after him, crumbling the paper up in her fist. From somewhere below, they heard the shattering of glass and a loud scream. Aion swore loudly as he spun around and grabbed Shader's hand. Then, fast as lightning, he raced into another room, busting the door down as he went. The guest inside screamed at their appearance as Aion slammed through the glass window.

Shader yelped in shock as they fell, glass pricking her skin. Aion's true form came out and in one swift motion, he was soaring through the air, flying higher and higher. "Hang on, Shader!" he called back to her as he picked up speed. He wouldn't let the last of the Sinners be killed. Not even Chrno would be killed. The Sinners had to live. He wouldn't let them all perish as Sarin saw fit. Sarin was a Sinner by himself. Even Chrno was by himself, but Chrno had once been a friend, and so, Aion would not let his brother die if he could help it. But first Shader had to be taken care of.

Meanwhile the cat demon was clinging to Aion, her eyes wide in fear as they soared over the city. As she turned in his arms, where she was dangling, feeling as if she were going to fall, her eyes widened. A dark figure was hovering above the city. "Chrno!" Shader yelled out, glad to see her friend. She felt Aion stiffen, but took nothing of it as she yelled again, "Chrno! Come here!"

"Tell him nothing," Aion growled in her ear. "He can't know, not yet."

Shader nodded, "I wasn't planning to tell him anyway. He'd fall right out of the sky if I told him. Wait-Aion, are you gonna try and kill him?"

"No, Shader, I'm not. Not yet at least. He needs to stay alive and help me kill Sarin," Aion mumbled as he sped towards his brother, who had turned to face them. A look of surprise was written on his features as he flew over to them.

They met up with one another a few moments later. "Shader!" Chrno cried out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Shader grinned, fixing her glasses as she replied, "Oh, just hanging out. Heh-heh. Anyway, if you didn't know, Sarin's here and he's looking for me. Aion and I are leaving and you should too,"

"Where are you going?" Chrno directed the question at Aion, a look of distrust in his eyes as he spoke.

"If I tell you that, it wouldn't be a secret. But you'll see us again soon, mark my words, Chrno. I still need you to help me kill that bastard," Aion growled, and then he flew off, not giving Shader a chance to say anymore.

-

Sarin destroyed the hotel that Shader and Aion had been in, cursing them and the hotel people. He slaughtered everyone, letting the blood flow and the building fly up in flames. He could not believe he had let them slip through his fingers so quickly. Roaring in fury, he slammed his fist into a standing brick wall. It shattered upon impact, falling into the flames. "I'll get you!" he yelled out into the night as he grabbed his scythe and vanished into the shadows. "I'll kill you Aion! You know too much," he growled just as he vanished.

Reappearing in front of another hotel, his eyes narrowed. His anger depleted as he sensed another one of his targets inside. An evil grin grew on his face as he walked inside, melting into the shadows. He, after all, was the Sinner of Death. The 'Grim Reaper' is what a few called him. Including _her_. Rosette.

-

The next day, Rosette awoke to sunlight spilling from a window. She yawned widely, sitting up. She stretched as she climbed out of bed, finding that Amy was already awake and probably down in the lobby getting breakfast. Slipping into some presentable clothes, Rosette headed downstairs and grabbed some breakfast and went back upstairs. She had failed to notice that Amy wasn't down there. She also failed to see the pair of eyes watching her the whole time.

Once Rosette had reached her room they she was staying in, she opened the door and walked in, a grin on her face as she thought about eating the food on the plate she had. Walking over to the bed, she sat down and began eating the food. That was when she realized she hadn't seen Amy downstairs. Confused, she put the food aside and walked towards the door. Opening it, Rosette went over to where Azmaria and Stella were staying. Maybe they knew where Amy was.

Walking into their room, she looked around. Stella was sleeping while Azmaria was getting dressed. The young Apostle turned around to see Rosette standing there. "Hey Azmaria, have you seen Amy anywhere?" Rosette asked, closing the door behind her as she walked into the room.

Azmaria shook her head and responded quietly, "No, I haven't. Why? Is she missing?" Rosette nodded without speaking, and so Azmaria continued, "Well she might be taking a shower. She didn't take one last night like the rest of us,"

Rosette nodded thoughtfully once more. "Yeah, I didn't think of that. Well, thanks anyway, Azmaria." She waved as she opened the door and left.

Heading back to her own room, Rosette was about to open the door when she heard a voice growl,_ "Don't even think about it."_

Spinning around, Rosette came face-to-face with none of than Sarin the Sinner. "S-Sarin!" she gasped out, falling back against the door in surprise. She reached for her gun, only to realize it was still in the room. _'Damn,_' she swore. _'This is a great time to forget my gun!'_

"Hem, hem, that would be me, my dear. Now, if you would be so kind, please step away from the door." Sarin had a smirk on his face and his black eyes were glittering. His voice was smooth and calm.

Rosette did as she was told, afraid of what might happen to her if she didn't. Should she call out for Chrno? Stepping out of the doorway, she side-stepped, not wanting to get any closer to Sarin than she already was. Sarin raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing as he moved towards the door. "You won't be needing your gun, I presume." Rosette watched as he place his right hand on the door. Her blue eyes widened in shock as a blue electricity emitted from his hand, going through the door, and into the room. There was a shattering sound, followed by a loud _snap!_ "No one needs such dangerous weapons. The world is not meant for such bloodshed on our behalf, is it not?" Sarin's grinned wickedly as Rosette began to realize what he had done. He had shattered her guns!

"_Our_ behalf? As _if!_ You're the type of creature that has to be killed!" Rosette spat, though her unease was showing. She was powerless against the ex leader of the Sinners. She had no weapon and she feared that if she called out to Chrno, something bad would happen to her and the people in the hotel. She had not failed to notice the blood smeared on Sarin's face and clothes.

"You've offend me, Rosette!" Sarin mocked an offended look, drawing back, and then taking a rather large step forward, a grin on his face, showing his fangs. :Hem, hem. I told you I do not treat women of your beauty with such brutality as I do others. You have nothing to fear from me,"

Rosette drew back, snarling, "Then why did you kill that innocent little girl? What did she do to you?"

Sarin looked thoughtful as he looked up at the ceiling, one finger on his chin. And then, quickly, his head snapped back down to look at her. The grin on his face reappeared as he spoke, "Don't you see, Rosette? I simply had to let you know that I was in San Francisco. I have many targets I am after, and to obtain one of them, I must have _you_. So I killed the girl to make you believe I was here in San Francisco with the damned cat-demon Shader. Now that you are here, I can take you from Chrno. I will use you to lure him to me and then I will kill him!"

Rosette looked startled as she stumbled backwards even more, the urge to cry out to Chrno growing and becoming more tempting by the second. "And you trust me with all of this? What if I went and told everyone that? What would you do then?"

"Well, that means nothing because you will simply not be able to tell them. For you will be with me." Sarin replied, and when he spoke again, his tone was suddenly alluring as he swept down towards her, "_You will come with me, Rosette."_ And then, before Rosette could run, Sarin was holding her, his true form unmasked as he got ready to fly.

At that moment, the door nearby opened and out walked Azmaria. "Rosette what are you-" the Apostle's question was left hanging as Rosette yelled loudly and fearfully, "CHRNO!" But it was too late for her. Sarin crouched low to the ground, and then sprung upwards, busting a hole in the roof, and taking off into the morning sky.

_A/N: Oh these poor, poor people! Why must I be so cruel to them? Okay…getting a little dramatic there…Anyway, Next chapter will be up soon. Please review. And also, we have one very important question: What is it that Shader knows-along with Aion-that they can't tell Chrno? And _where_ is Amy?_-_She vanishes too much…heh-heh._

_Okay, so that was 2 questions…anyway, I put Shader in here, and yes. Aion and Shader will be appearing up in the fan fic more often. But mostly the story will revolve around Chrno and Rosette. And if you're wondering what is to become of Rosette…/laughs evilly/ You shall have to wait and see! _

_Well, thanks for all the reviews I have received so far! It's late and I need to go to sleep. Night people! (Hey! I just now got the Chrno Crusade series! –I've been reading them over the internet! Yay! I get to read Volume 8 at last! Now I need the Anime…I'm gonna buy it! I've got 126 dollars! Yay!)_

_Oh yeah, I realize that I've made a mistake. Heh-heh. I was reading through this the other day and somehow, in my head, I came to believe there were actually seven Sinners instead of six…(the original ones without Sarin included) and so I put that there were seven original Sinners and adding Sarin made eight, so I need to fix that…Where I ever thought there was seven I'll never know…Oh well._

Next Chapter: Fleeing From Unwanted Memories (Double-update) 


	13. Fleeing From Unwanted Memories

**13. Fleeing From Unwanted Memories**

Chrno came rushing out of the room at the sound of Rosette's cry for help. He saw Sarin shatter the roof. Anger flared through his veins as he turned into his demon form and took off after the ex-leader of the Sinners. He would not allow Sarin to take Rosette if he had anything to say about it!

Racing after him, Chrno bared his fangs, letting a demonic growl in his throat. Rosette was struggling in Sarin's arms, trying to escape. "Let me go!" she yelled, beating against Sarin's chest and shoulders, trying to get away. "Chrno help!"

The demon was desperate to reach Rosette, but Sarin, being faster and stronger than Chrno, was already getting further and further away. "Rosette!" he yelled loudly into the morning air, his red eyes fixed on her. "I'll find you!" he promised. "I won't let him take you!" Giving it everything he had, Chrno allowed himself to push himself to the limits to reach Rosette. What happened next was astounding.

Everyone in San Francisco that day heard it. Everyone knew that the demon who had wrought such terror on their home was back. But what no one realized, was that Chrno had a purpose. Had a reason for what he did.

In an instant, his arm became a demonic-like sword. Like it had when he had killed Aion. Like it had when he had left Rosette. A cry of rage escaped his lips as he rammed into Sarin, stabbing the blade straight through his side. Rosette gave a cry of fear and shock as blood splattered on her dress. Chrno heard, but he knew he had not hurt her. Ripping the sword out, with his free hand, he grabbed Sarin by the throat. "Release her," he demanded, his voice a low snarl dripping with venom.

Sarin only smirked, no seeming to feel the pain as he bled. His blood rained down on San Francisco, splattering the sidewalk as it dripped from his body. "Now why would I do that?" He raised an eyebrow, "I must say, I'm quite impressed by how you caught up to me. Although-you're a little rusty, I must say. If you think I'd give up that easy, you're wrong," With a wicked laugh, Sarin released Rosette, dropping her. Then, with one soft motion, he slashed Chrno across the face. Another demonic laugh escaped him as he said, "If you want her, you'll have to catch her," he teased, and then added, "Before I do,"

Rosette terrified scream was all Chrno could hear as he dove towards the falling girl. Sarin was right beside him, going faster. He would reach Rosette first, Chrno knew it. "Oh no you don't!" he yelled, raising his other hand as the hand that had been the sword vanished and became normal. With one quick wave of his hand, Chrno froze Sarin.

That gave him just enough time to speed past the demon before the time barrier was shattered. Chrno caught Rosette, and then, quick as lightning, turned left and flew off, using the large buildings as a cover up. As soon as he was safely hidden in the shadows, he looked down at Rosette, "Are you all right?" he asked, his eyes showing worry and yet burned with the rage he felt towards Sarin the Sinner.

"I'm fine," she said, looking at him. "And thank you, Chrno. I didn't want to go with him." Tears were trailing down her face and she was trembling in his arms.

"Shh," Chrno soothed. He did not like to see Rosette cry. "We have to get back to the others and get out of here," he said, about to take off once more.

"But what about Shader?" Rosette questioned.

"She's fine. She's with Aion-he found her last night-and Sarin had found them. They left San Francisco, but I don't know where they are." he explained.

Looking up at the dawning sky, he was about to take flight when a low, demonly voice growled from the shadows, "Dare you take Rosette from me? Dare you use your powers against me! What would your mother say? Hurting me like that?" a dark chuckle.

Chrno spun around, holding Rosette close to him, his body stiffening. His red eyes narrowed, "Shut the hell up you sick bastard! Don't talk to me as if you know me or my mother!" he snarled. His mother…Lilith…

"Who? Lilith? I know her very well-I knew her when she was human," another chuckle, but this time, shattered with sorrow. "Didn't you know that?" Sarin asked, looking Chrno in the eyes. There was a pain in his eyes. "I loved her when she was human, but then, she became a demon. A very evil, ambitious demon. And then you two were born, and I began to hate her. And thus was born the demon you see in front of you. I am a fully fledged demon, unlike Lilith. Hem, hem, she never realized it either-not until it was too late."

Chrno's eyes widened in shock. Aion's words from two and a half years ago echoed through his mind…

"_An untuned body…the human Lilith." _

"_The woman who gave birth to you and me." _

"_It seems she was already pregnant when she was brought here." _

"_Some things are better left unknown, huh? In your case at least."_

"_Ha ha! Don't get the wrong idea, moron."_

"_This is just a **vessel** for the execrable system that is Pandaemonium." _

"_Whatever humanity was inside her died before we were born."_

"Wh-Who the hell are you?" Chrno shouted, not wanting to hear anymore. Forgetting that he still held Rosette, the younger demon took off into the air, fleeing from Sarin. The question rang through his head as he headed back to the hotel. Who _was_ Sarin? How did he know Lilith…?

Once they were back in the room Rosette had been staying in, Chrno set the exorcist down and looked away. "Go get everyone-we're leaving," he told her, turning his back to her and looking out the window.

Rosette nodded wordlessly as she left to get the others, the shock still in her system as he wiped the tears from her face. A question was in her mind, though. How had Sarin managed to upset Chrno so much just by the mere mention of his mother?

Walking into Azmaria's room, she saw the Apostle and everyone else talking urgently with one another. At the sound of the door opening, they all spun around, their conversation dying. Joshua was standing up beside Azmaria, who wore a terrified expression on her face. Stella looked shocked and worried. Amy was there too, listening intently, a look of seriousness on her face. But Stella looked sick-afraid. Everyone knew that Stella had been somehow sent to the future when she summoned something. To 1999. But she had mysteriously reappeared in Germany, where they had received word of her appearance.

"Rosette!" Azmaria cried out, "Are you all right? Where's Chrno?" she asked quickly.

"In the other room. Come on, we have to leave before Sarin finds us." she explained, pointing to the door.

"You're bleeding…" Joshua stated blankly, looking at a spot on her arm.

Rosette blinked and looked down. Yes, she was bleeding. There was blood running down her arm, but it wasn't Sarin's blood-it was her own. Had Sarin hurt her, or had Chrno? She had never felt any pain… She just breathed and then nodded, "Yes well, come on, we have to hurry," she then spun around and ran out of the room.

She went back into the room where Chrno was and found him staring at his hands. She saw blood on his fingers, drying slowly. He didn't look up when she walked over to him. "Chrno?" she called out to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You all right?"

He nodded mutely, finally turning to look at her, smiling slightly, "Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking," he told her quietly.

Rosette sighed, knowing that he wasn't telling her the full truth. That was when she notice the large gashes on his face, blood leaking from the wounds. A look of worry flashed across her face as she reached up to wipe the blood away. "You're bleeding," she mumbled, a feeling of compassion flaring within her. Chrno looked so helpless…

"Yeah…did you get the others?" he asked, reaching up to is face where her hand was.

Rosette nodded as he grabbed her hand, which was now smeared with his blood. His warm fingers wound tightly from her hand as he moved her hand from his face. "Good. Sarin's coming and so we need to hurry," he told her, looking away again.

"Um…are we going?" Stella's voice interjected from where everyone was standing in the doorway.

Rosette turned to look at them, not failing to notice how Chrno had released her hand and had turned back to the window, staring at it contently. "Yes-hey Chrno, where are we going?" she asked, turning back to him, trying to force herself to believe the others hadn't been standing there that whole time.

"Somewhere-anywhere. We've just got to leave," he muttered; he sounded pitiful, hopeless, in a state of shock.

Rosette sighed, wondering what the hell had gotten into Chrno as she turned to the others. "All right, fine. I say we go somewhere that no one would think to look for us at. Any ideas?"

"How about Canada?" Joshua asked. He'd always wanted to go up north…and down south…

"Germany?" Stella asked. "We can go to my house in Germany,"

"Michigan?" –Azmaria.

"California?" –Amy.

"Alaska!" –Joshua.

"New Hampshire?" –Amy.

"Atlanta?" Stella.

"South Carolina?" –Azmaria.

"Newfoundland…?" –Joshua. He sounded upset now. "How 'bout somewhere cold?"

"Japan?" –Amy. "Wait, do any of you know Japanese besides myself?"

"Um, the Grand Canyon?" Stella asked, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to think of other places she'd never been before.

At the mention of the Grand Canyon, Chrno visibly stiffened, turning to face them ever so slightly.

Amy, who still had something against the demon, said, "Yeah! The Grand Canyon! There are so many places in there that no one could possibly find us! We'd be invisible almost! And not a lot of people pass through the canyons because it's a sightseeing place. And it's closer than most of those others places you mentioned! I say we go!"

"Hmm…That makes sense," Azmaria said thoughtfully.

"Yeah! I've never been to the Grand Canyon before!" Stella said enthusiastically.

"Then we'll go there," Amy replied. "That's three to...three…eh. Joshua, Rosette? Do you want to go?"

Rosette blinked, turning to look at Chrno. He had looked away again and was staring at the window. Except this time his red eyes were wide with horror. "Yes! Yes! Fine! Let's just get the hell out of here!" he screamed, grabbing Rosette instantly and running for the door. She was dragged behind him as she tried to catch up. The others ran after them as they quickly realized Sarin was coming and he _was not_ a happy demon.

Rosette found herself on the streets, the others following as they made their way to the nearest car. "What do you plan to do?" she yelled at Chrno as he jerked the door open, nearly tearing it off of its hinges. He leapt in, dragging her in after him. She crawled over him, sitting in the passenger seat and watched as he quickly hot-wired the car. Stella, Joshua, Amy, and Azmaria squeezed into the back as Chrno got the car to start.

Backing up, Chrno began driving swiftly through San Francisco, paying no heed to any stop signs or street lights. "What do you think you're doing?" Rosette yelled at him. "You're going to get us arrested-as if stealing a car isn't enough!" she felt like hitting him, but was too busy trying to get the seatbelt on to worry. That was when she realized that she still held a piece of paper in her hand-something she had snatched when Sarin had grabbed her.

-

Sarin was furious. No one did such a thing to him. No one who ask who he was, demanding answers they couldn't possibly know. They couldn't make him suffer when he spoke of Lilith, and yet _he_ did! He was going to die for such a thing. _Chrno would die!_

A fire erupted in the hotel, a huge shadow cast over it as it was consumed. Blood splattered into the air, screams echoed through Sarin's mind. He screamed curses at the car that was rapidly fading in the distance. And then, as his anger began to expand, a death sentence took place. That day in San Francisco, there was more slaughter than when Chrno had first destroyed it.

Blood rained down from the sky and flames grew high. Smoke filled the air and souls were stolen, trapped on Earth. The Grim Reaper was fit to murder. Spreading his black wings, Sarin took off into the night sky, ready to find Rosette and take her, and kill Chrno and his other human friends. Aion and Shader could wait.

_A/N: (Hey! I just now got the Chrno Crusade series! –I've been reading them over the internet! Yay! I get to read Volume 8 at last! Now I need the Anime…I'm gonna buy it! I've got 126 dollars! Yay!) Anyway, I had to make the part with Stella fit because I only knew she lived, I didn't know anything else, so that's why I put the little explanation about her appearing up in her home in Germany. Oh and have any of you guys figured out who Sarin really is yet? There's a hint in this chapter! Heh-heh. If you think you know-review and tell me. –Oh yeah…In this fic, in case any of your didn't realize, CHRNO IS NOT MISSING AN ARM OR EYE! Eck…I didn't like that…-Read Volume 8._

_I don't know if part of this chapter is bad or not; that's up to you, but for a while there, I had writer's block, but then I read volume 8 of Chrno Crusade when I got it and it put me back into the mood of writing, and gave me a sense of what actually happened. So, now that I have finally gotten the series and don't have to drive myself mad trying to download it off the internet, let's rejoice! XD. Well, now I have to buy a portable DVD player and then buy Chrno Crusade. But I might just buy a regular DVD player so I can still buy Chrno Crusade…who knows? I do! Not…XD. Okay well, if any of you guys don't have a clear picture of Sarin-I found one that RESEMBLES him. (if you have the manga)_

_Resemblance to Sarin-_

_Volume #5_

_Page 179_

_4th box_

_It's the guy all dressed in black with the black cape on, grabbing his sword, black hat._

_No Sarin does not wear a hat. No Sarin does not have a sword. He has a scythe. Turn the cape into an open trench coat, make his hair a little longer, give him the slightest resemblance to Aion-and there ya go! _

_His demon form compared to that guy is-_

_Make his hair longer. Black leather open trench coat. Wears no shirt-scythe in hand. Horns like Aion's. Black eyes. Smirking. Wings like Chrno's. Black stripes on his face like Aion's. (Yes there are a lot of references to Aion) His hair is like Chrno's, long, but black. And there ya go! _

_Now do you know who he is? Next Chapter-Sins That Were Forgotten_


	14. Sins That Were Forgotten

**14.** **Sins That Were Forgotten**

Aion set Shader down in South Carolina Charleston-a ghost town, really. He scanned the area, making sure no one had followed them. "Destroy the paper, Shader," he ordered her, turning to look back at the demon, who was suddenly looking rather uneasy. Aion, noticing this quickly, asked, "What is it?"

"Well…uh, the paper, Aion. It uh…kinda slipped out of my hand while we were flying," she mumbled, looking at Aion sheepishly.

"WHAT?" Aion roared, and then calmed down, "Well…maybe, if we're lucky, no one has it and just thinks it's trash."

'_I wouldn't count on that…_' Shader thought, sighed heavily and just agreeing with Aion.

-

Chrno drove for what seemed like hours and not once did they get stopped by a cop, which shocked Rosette beyond belief. As she sat up front, one of her hands remained curled around the piece of paper. She was tempted several times to uncrumple it and read whatever it said, but each time she stopped herself when she saw Chrno. She was afraid that it might have something on it that Chrno would get even more upset about because it had come from Sarin.

When night fell and midnight was approaching, the others in the back, who were a little crowded, had fallen asleep, hungry and thirsty, but at least they were no longer in danger. Chrno and Rosette were the only ones awake, Chrno staring intently at the road ahead. "When did you learn to drive?" Rosette finally asked, breaking the silence.

"About a year ago-it wasn't easy either," he admitted, glancing over at her. There was a soft, gentle smile on his face.

'_Whatever was wrong with him this morning has obviously passed,_' Rosette thought, and then spoke aloud, "Well at least you were smart enough to think about hot-wiring a car. But Chrno…what happened today? You got so upset…I haven't seen you like that in a long time,"

Now Chrno's smile faded as he spoke again, "I'm sorry if I worried you, Rosette. It's just that Sarin surprised me, is all. And he scared me. Scared me more than I'd ever been scared in my life," Chrno couldn't stop. He had to let someone know his feelings. "When I saw him taking you away, I was terrified. Terrified of losing you. I mean, I can sense how powerful Sarin was. And I didn't think I could catch up with him. And so I forced myself to reach him…but when I did, he dropped you Rosette. I thought you were going to die-or Sarin would catch you once more…

"And when I used a time barrier on him and caught you-when I hid in the shadows and he just came out like that, I hadn't anticipated it. And then he started talking about Lilith-the woman who was my mother…Aion and me-our mother. I didn't know that anyone ever knew Lilith as a human…never…and then Sarin goes on about how he had grown to hate her. That was how he became the leader of the Sinners…he is the most powerful demon, Rosette. Stronger than Aion and I combined…I don't know how I'm going to kill him.

"He can bend the atmosphere with the flick of the wrist. He can make things burst into flames with his anger. He can kill many, many people just my willing it to happen. And I'm afraid for you, Rosette. Very afraid…I'm not going to lose you again,"

By now Chrno's eyes were filled with tears. In his mind, he could see it. See it clearly-_very clearly_. It was the memories Aion had wiped from his mind. It was what he had forgotten about Sarin. And now he remembered it.

Wiping his own tears away, Chrno apologized quietly as silence descended upon the two. After a few minutes, Chrno pulled over onto an abandoned dirt road. "Let's get some rest, Rosette. We have a long drive tomorrow."

He bent down and detached the two wires he had used to hot-wire the car and then sat back in his chair, leaning against the window. Rosette blinked, sighing heavily as she leaned against her door, looking at Chrno. It seemed like an eternity as she sat there in the dark, looking at the demon who had seemed to be sleeping.

"You know, Chrno…I've missed you so much over the years and I thought, for a while there, I couldn't live without you. But then, I remembered your promise. You said you'd come back, even when everyone believed you were dead, I held you to that promise. You kept it, you came back, but…you're different…You isolated yourself from everyone and everything and carried on a life of killing demons, but you didn't have regular conversations with anyone…Why did you change so much?" she whispered aloud her thoughts as she stared at the demon. Chrno had changed out of his true form a long time ago and was in his adult human guise.

Rosette sighed, looking away from Chrno and pressing her cheek against the window. "I want the old Chrno back…" she whispered before falling asleep.

-

About two hours later, Chrno awoke from a nightmare. He looked around in the dark car, wondering where he was for a moment, but then it all came back to him. Relaxing, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked over at Rosette. Her hair was down and she looked peaceful. A smile grew on his face as he looked at her resting so peacefully. _'At least she's having good dreams,'_ he thought without envy.

He looked away, but in the corner of his eye, something crumpled and white caught his eye. Turning back to Rosette, he noticed a piece of paper that was laying next to her sleeping form. Reaching over, he grabbed it and carefully unfolded it from its many wrinkles and creases.

Looking at the paper, Chrno's eyes widened in shock as he began to read it, instantly recognizing Aion's handwriting:

_I will not say this aloud, so as you read this, say nothing of it. The demon, Sarin, who is after you, Shader, is a Sinner. He is the ex-leader of the Sinners, but you would not remember him. Long ago, I wiped your memory because of the dangers this could bring about. Most likely with Chrno. Now I fear what would happen if he discovered the truth all over again. _

_Sarin was a friend to him in Eden, but things had begun to change. Sarin began to grow more aggressive and angry when we spoke of Pandaemonium and killing her. I understand why he would get so upset over it, but he grew ambitious. He wanted to slay the demon who had corrupted Lilith-my mother. _

_Chrno, who usually hung out with Sarin on a regular basis, got into a fight with our first leader. It wasn't a pleasant sight to see as Chrno began to lose himself in his anger. Sarin, knowing exactly what was happening, knew what was going to become of the fight. _

_Chrno was a fool for taking on Sarin. An idiot. Sarin nearly killed Chrno, and said next time that Chrno dared interfere with any of his plans-no matter how insane or unpredictable they could be-he would kill him. I knew Sarin could be heartless to humans, but to someone as close to him as Chrno, I could not have imagined-in his point of view anyway. _

_You should realize that Sarin is the deadliest and most powerful demon alive. He is stronger than Pandaemonium, and Chrno and I. When he threatened my brother, I gathered all of you up and we planned to throw Sarin out. But first, we had to do something about Chrno. He was seriously injured and at the time, still bleeding everywhere. Eventually, we used our powers to heal him, but even now, he is still scared by that fight. _

_Sarin is the Sinner of Death. He claims he decides every ones' fates. No one could change whether they lived or died if he decided it. Yet, strangely enough, he had a growing sense of compassion towards human women. That is where Chrno gets it from, I see now._

_I only wish we had killed Sarin when we had the chance. I was going to, for Chrno, but Chrno told me not to. Told me that it was wrong to kill our father. And so I let him live. _

_Surprised? Well, yes, Sarin is our father. Lilith obviously mated with a demon and had demon children. But she was susceptible to a demonic presence. Pandaemonium corrupted her soul and she became a monster. And thus, Sarin left her-before we were born. Later, we were taken with him, living in a hell with him. He is one of the first demons and the last alive. Well, then we all began to meet the rest of the Sinners, but what you know as Chrno completely breaking us out of Pandaemonium, isn't because he lost his temper. It is because Sarin past on his strength and willpower to Chrno. Chrno's loss of temper caused him to reopen an age-old wound that was created upon birth. A different demonic presence lives in Chrno, a bloodthirsty side. That was born of Sarin's love for death._

_But as I said earlier, Sarin has an odd attraction to human women. He spared many women, trying to find one that could become his new 'Lilith', I suppose. And now, I am afraid to say, Chrno's lady friend, the nun woman, is his newest target. I believe that if he sees that his son loves such a woman, he must have her for his own._

_And not only that, Sarin can use the girl against Chrno. As I had with Joshua. Except he will do much worse. Young Rosette is in the most danger she could possibly be in. Chrno will protect her, I am sure. He has before. But that means nothing. He cannot match the powers of Sarin. Once Chrno is dead, I am sure Sarin will take the young girl for his own use-for he is a monster now. A bloodthirsty, ruthless monster that must be killed._

_And Shader._

_Never speak a word of this to Chrno or his friends. He can't know the truth. Not yet at least._

Chrno dropped the piece of paper, his breathing suddenly heavy with shock. His hands were shaking as he looked over at Rosette and then at himself. That _monster_ was his father? Swallowing roughly, he tried to contain himself as he looked back over at Rosette. She was undisturbed and unaware of Chrno's sense of horror.

He reached out towards Rosette, his fingers resting on her cheek. Her skin felt cold to the touch. Brushing her hair out of her eyes, Chrno caressed her cheek, thanking the Lord that she was safe and with him and not with Sarin. Chrno found himself leaning further towards her. He felt his fear ebbing away and he drew closer to her. He wasn't shaking as much either. It was like Rosette was healing him. Letting him forget his shock.

"Rosette," he whispered, removing his hand and leaning back against the door once more. His eyes were glued on her. He felt so helpless sitting there. They should be hiding not stuck in some car! No…they shouldn't be hiding at all.

They should be at the Order having a good time and spending time with one another. Instead they were here. In the middle of Arkansas.

Chrno's eyes widened as he heard Rosette mumble something. Her blue eyes opened slightly, and then they flew open. "Ch-Chrno?" she yawned, looking at him. "What are you doing awake." Rosette brought one of her hands to her mouth as she yawned, and that was when she seemed to realize she was missing the paper. Looking around, there was a confused look on her face.

"Looking for this?" Chrno asked, holding the paper up, his eyes narrowing. Rosette only nodded meekly. "What are you doing with it?" he looked at her questioningly, crushing the paper in his hand as he relaxed once more.

Rosette blinked and responded quietly, "I snatched it from Sarin. I was going to read it later, but I guess you did that for me…so what did it say?"

"Nothing good, if that's what you mean. It's a message from Aion to Shader. How that bastard Sarin ever got his hands on it, I'll never know…" Chrno grumbled, his fury, shock, and anguish returning. He tried to hide it, but it was impossible.

"What's wrong?" Rosette demanded, knowing Chrno only swore so harshly when he was upset or mad. "Did it say something bad?"

Chrno nodded.

"What?"

"I can't tell you, Rosette…I'd prefer you not know," Chrno responded, turning away from her.

"What do you mean you'd prefer me not know? You always told me things in the past! Why are you acting like this, Chrno? Why have you changed so much? Have you forgotten who you once were?" Rosette snapped, her voice suddenly broken as she voiced her earlier thoughts to the demon. She turned away from him, unable to face him.

_A/N: Eh…some people think there's a break between Chrno and Rosette. There's a minor one, yes, but it MIGHT get repaired. Who knows? Not me! Not you! XD. Well, any of you guys surprised? Heh-heh. Originally, I never planned this, but the idea popped into my head. Aren't I mean? But it makes sense, doesn't it? Well, I gotta go! Bye! Oh and…I might put some fluff in the next chapter. Depends on how many reviews I get/grins wickedly/laughs demonically/ Well, Ja ne (bye)._

_Next Chapter: 15. Facing the Facts and Changes_

_Next day (for me)-YAY! My Ipod's charged! Now I'm listening to I Write Sins nit Tragedies by Panic at the Disco. (starts typing next chapter…)_


	15. Facing the Facts and Changes

**15. Facing the Facts and Changes**

Chrno felt torn. He had hurt Rosette by hiding something from her. She believed he was changing, or had changed. What was so different about him? What had changed in him so much that could make her hurt so much as to give up on fighting with him and turn away? Worry erased every other emotion in his body. "Rosette," he whispered, reaching for her. "Are you all right?"

No response.

"Rosette," he persisted, "Are you okay?" his fingers brushed her shoulder. She only shrugged his hand away. "Rosette, I'm sorry okay…it's just that I don't want to show you this message. It's to protect you. We were never supposed to read this letter anyway. Now please, turn around," Why was it hurting him so much to see her like this? To see her want to refuse his conversations, to ignore him in such a way? It wasn't like her.

Frowning, he was about to reach out again when he noticed her arm. There was caked blood all over it. What had happened to her? Had his father done this to her? Biting his lip, Chrno spoke again, "Fine, Rosette. If you are going to act this way over a message to Shader from Aion, I'll tell you what it said," he finally gave in, wanting Rosette to look at him. She showed no sign of even hearing him.

Chrno sighed, "But once you here this Rosette…please, don't think of me any different. Please…" he whispered, looking down at his hands. In his mind, he could see the lost memories he was slowly recovering…

_Sarin walked towards Chrno's room. He was the only one who didn't know their plans at the moment. Opening the door, Sarin found Chrno looking out the window, and at the sky. "Chrno," he called out._

_Chrno turned around, looking at Sarin, "What?"_

"_You need to know our plans. The others have already heard, but because no one had the common courteously to come and get you, you're the only one who doesn't. Anyway, we have all reached a decision that because Mary Magdalene has Pandaemonium's memories inside of her, we're going to have to kill her._

"_We can't risk Pandaemonium coming out again," Sarin explained, his eyes emotionless as his voice._

"_What?" Chrno yelped in surprise. He could already feel his blood turning cold. "You can't!"_

"_But we can. And you're going to be the one to do it," Sarin growled._

"_No!" Chrno yelled at his father, his eyes narrowed into furious slits. "You're not going to hurt Mary!"_

"_I understand how you feel towards her, but I cannot allow her to live. I'm sorry," Sarin stared at his son, knowing what was about to happen. As he predicted, Chrno grew angry towards him and charged, ready to kill him to protect Mary. Sarin held out one hand before Chrno could reach him and his scythe appeared. "You will not stop me," Sarin growled and then struck out._

_-_

And then the memory was gone. Chrno blinked, realizing that Rosette was still staring out the window. He sighed, "Well…now that I have that said, I guess I should tell you…Aion put in the message that Sarin is the Sinner of death. The Grim Reaper, as you refer to him. And…A couple of days ago, you mentioned that Sarin said he does not treat women ill if he likes them…" Chrno mumbled, not wanting to say this.

"Well, it's because-because he's trying to find someone like my mother. So he can replace her after she had been corrupted. He's looking for another…wife," Chrno said at last, hoping he had hinted it enough. He did not want to say it aloud, fearing that if he did, he would surely drown in his own terror and shock.

Rosette made no move to show that she understood.

And so Chrno pressed on, "And well, Aion says that he's…em…Sarin's chosen the one his son is…is in love with," Chrno couldn't help but blush, and yet frown at the same time. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I mean his uh…younger son…not Aion but…me," he said at last, feeling the truth tear through his body, but he also felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders.

When he had finished, Rosette turned in her seat, a look of pure shock on her face. "You mean you're _his_ son?" she gasped out.

Chrno nodded, looking down at his hands. "Yes…I am and I never even knew it…I'm sorry,"

Meanwhile, Rosette was shocked on the inside, but she hid it when she saw Chrno looking so upset and rejected. Scooting over in her seat, she moved closer to Chrno and touched his shoulder. "You don't have to apologize. We can't chose our parents, Chrno. And Chrno,"

Chrno looked up ever so slightly, a questioning look in his eyes, but his face remained blank.

"Did you mean what you said? Did you mean to say that you're in love with me? Or did you mean something else?" Rosette felt a warm feeling spread through her body when she sat there, and at the same time a sick feeling. Not once had Chrno ever said he loved her. He had only ever said that he cared for her.

Chrno looked up now, his face slightly red with embarrassment as he nodded. "Yes, I did." he replied quietly, not realizing, that in the back of the car, one of their friends was awake, listening, her eyes closed as she pretended to sleep.

Rosette smiled, her blue eyes soft. "I'm glad," she whispered, "because I never told you…I wanted to so much, but I never got the chance to ever say this…and when I 'died' back in Eden, I was going to tell you-just before I put your horns on…but my life gave out of me. But now, I have time. I can tell you now. Chrno, I love you too. And I've clung to that when I all but gave up," she whispered to him, the smile never fading from her face.

Before Rosette realized what was happening, she found herself pulled into Chrno's lap, his arms wrapped around her. His head rested on her shoulder. "I did too, when I was alone…" he held her close, cherishing the moment.

The person in the back who was awake, smiled as she cracked open an eyelid to look at the two. She was glad for them.

Chrno changed into his true form as he held Rosette there. She turned in his arms, looking into his strangely beautiful, mystic eyes. "You said you'd always be with me. I believed you. I've never lost sight of you before, Chrno. Thank you for being with me, even when you weren't there physically."

He smiled as he leaned forward ever so slightly and gently brushed his lips over hers. "Thanks you for excepting me for who I am," he whispered as his fangs raked gently over her bottom lip. Rosette's arms wrapped around Chrno neck, glad that she could move this time. The last kiss that Chrno had given her-when she wasn't asleep-she had a time barrier on her!

Meanwhile the person shut her eyes, knowing the two would want some privacy. _'How they managed to make out in a damn car as small as this one, I'll never know,_' she thought as she drifted off into sleep at last.

-

The next day, Rosette awoke, feeling warm and safe. She tightened her arms around the warm thing she was holding, snuggling closer. She felt great! She heard a muffled _'Mmfphh'_ from somewhere, but she didn't care.

"Are either of them awake yet?" a quiet, almost too quiet to hear.

"I don't think so," another voice said.

"Well I'm getting out of this damn car! It's freakin' cramped in here!" it was someone's loud voice. Rosette's eyes snapped open. That was Stella. A car door slammed as the German woman got out of the car.

Blinking, she lifted her head only to see Chrno, his arms wrapped securely around her waist. He looked so peaceful and not troubled anymore. Rosette actually had second thoughts about waking him up for once. "Chrno," she finally called out to him, ignoring the others. "Wake up,"

"Mmfphh," Chrno grumbled as his red eyes opened into tired slits. "Wha? Is it morning already?" he grumbled as he realized Rosette.

The exorcist nodded, "Yeah-and I think the others want to get going now," she said, pointing towards the backseat.

Chrno blinked, blushing slightly as Rosette crawled off of him and back into the passenger seat. Her face was slightly red too. The car door opened and Stella poked her head in, a mischeivious grin on her face. "Have fun last night?" she asked, laughing at Chrno and Rosette's face.

"Y-You were AWAKE?" Rosette yelped. A look of anger cross her face and she would have got up and started fighting with Stella if it hadn't been for Chrno.

"We mainly talked last night, _Stella_. Anyway, how much did you hear?" Chrno growled, glaring at the jewel witch.

"Em…enough." Stella replied. "But don't worry! I went to sleep after the whole 'You said you'd always be with me. I believed you.' part."

"And what was the beginning of the conversation that you heard?" Rosette demanded, jumping up in her seat. She could feel everyone's eyes on her.

"Hm…Something…what Rosette said…uh…I think it went like this: _'Did you mean what you said? Did you mean to say that you're in love with me? Or did you mean something else?'_ Yeah, I think that's where the conversation began-that I heard at least,"

Chrno blinked, "Are you so sure about that, Stella? You didn't hear anything _else_ before that?"

"I might have," now Stella look a little uneasy, "But I'm you'd rather me not repeat it…but," Stella looked at Chrno, looking him straight in the eyes, "I already knew. Long before you did."

"WHAT?" Chrno yelled, "And you didn't tell me?" he snapped, feeling betrayed.

"Well, that's one reason why I didn't tell you! You'd freak out and go all 'willy-wooo!' on us! Anyway, just start the damn car so we can get going!" Stella growled, jumping into the car.

"Uh…what are you talking about?" Joshua asked blankly.

"Nothing, Joshua, nothing," Rosette sighed, buckling up as Chrno re-hot-wired the car.

Once the car started up again, they were on the road, once more in silence. Rosette wanted to talk to Chrno so bad, but seeing as there were four others in the back, she really couldn't without at least one of them overhearing. Sighing, she looked out the window, wishing it wasn't so quiet.

Joshua, as if sensing that his sister wanted someone to talk to, spoke up, "Hey Rosette, don't you think we should call the Order and tell them we won't be coming back anytime soon? I'm pretty sure they'd like to know where we're going,"

Rosette turned in her seat, "I don't think that's a good idea…Remington might come out here looking for us-along with some others and I don't want to get anymore people involved than I have to,"

Joshua blinked, "Yeah…I guess you're right," he sighed in defeat.

"Why do you want to call the Order so much?" Azmaria asked, looking over at the young teen.

"…because before we left, I kinda told Remington we'd keep in check with him…" Joshua mumbled.

"_You did WHAT?_" Stella gasped. "Don't you know that was a really stupid thing to do?" she snapped.

"Yeah…well, I didn't know everything would lead to this…" Joshua mumbled, fiddling with his fingers.

Stella sighed, mumbling under her breath, "You're such and idiot…"

"Right back at ya," Joshua joked, grinning at Stella's expression. Lucky for him he was on the other side of the car.

Suddenly, Chrno spoke up from the front of the car, "Hey guys, we're not going to the Grand Canyon, all right? It's not the best place in the world to go anyway…" he mumbled the last part. "Bad memories there…Anyway, we have to find Aion, and I think I know just where he is…"

"Where?" Rosette asked at once. "Where's he at? I got a couple questions for the guy! And I want to see Shader!"

"The bastard's all the way across the country," Chrno growled. "Typical for him…"

"Chrno…calm down. He's your brother! Don't curse him so much! He isn't AS evil as he was before!" Rosette snapped.

"Why are you sticking up for him?"

"Because! Without him we would have run into Sarin in the park-and we never would have found Shader either!" Rosette snapped right back at him. "And you know it!"

"Shader? You guys found Shader?" Joshua asked from the back of the car, leaning forward to listen more clearly.

"Aion found her first, of course. I spoke to her two nights ago before they left. And now we're going to go find her." Chrno replied bluntly, "But I think we need to abandon the car. It's too slow to get us across the country. We might take a plane or train. Which do you guys prefer?"

"Plane!"

"Train!"

"Plane!"

"Plane!"

"Train!"

"So we're going to take a plane. Okay, but I hope you guys have some money," he told them as he sped the car up. It was running low on fuel.

"Ack! We don't have any money you bozo!" Stella snapped, smacking Chrno.

"You sound like Rosette…" Azmaria mumbled.

"What was that?" Stella snapped.

"STELLA! You're freakin' rich! You HAVE money!" Rosette yelled, smacking the jewel witch. Uh-oh…

"NOT WITH ME!"

"I bet you do! Grr!" Amy snapped, her eyes narrowed.

"STOP ARGUING!" Chrno yelled at the top of his lungs as he pulled up to a train station. "We're taking the train since we don't have enough money for a plane trip. Now come on. I have just enough to get us on a train and to South Carolina."

"South Carolina? What's Aion doing in South Carolina?" Azmaria asked as they all climbed out of the stolen car. Chrno walked towards the train station, shrugging. How should he know?

He bought the tickets and boarded the train with the others, not saying another word until they sat down. Once everyone was sitting comfortably on the train in the compartment, Chrno opened his mouth to speak. "Guys, I have to tell you something about last night. What Rosette and I talked about."

_A/N: Heh-heh! When I wrote the fluffy part, I was listening to the radio and Brad Paisley's 'She's Everything I Ever Wanted' was playing. Heh-heh. Just the right song for that scene, ne? Yes I was listening to the radio! My Ipod's dead! Otherwise I'd be listening to Lucifer's Angel by The Rasmus or Epiphany by Staind (which is one of my fav. songs but it's sad.) and it would make the a sad chapter! Oh well. Lucky people…(You guys in other words) OH GOSH! I'm listening to something on the radio…Here are some of this lyrics:_

_Oh how my heart stumbled into someone so kissable,_

_huggable_

_Lovable, _

_Unbelievable_

_There's so many things ii want to tell her_

_I got to love her_

_But I when start to talk I start to st-stutter_

_LOL. It's a SIGN! Oh well… it's country music, what can you expect? Yes-I adore country music! I live in the South (USA) get over it! (The South in the East-around Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina. All those places. Florida.) Well I'll be damned! There's yet ANOTHER sign!/ Yet I know this…I know the artist!/! Who is it? Dammit! I can't remember? Oh well…like you care! _

_R&R-PLEASE?/?_

_Next Chapter-Words That Never Should Have Been Said_


	16. Words That Should Not Have Been Said

**16. Words That Should Not Have Been Said**

Aion sighed heavily as he looked over at Shader, his eyes narrowed. "How could you have let that paper go? It had some very important things on it and I hate to see that my brother or Sarin has gotten hold of it. Sarin would only want to kill you all the more since you know about that, and Chrno will be lost in fury."

Shader blinked, looking up at her leader, "Well, you never know about Chrno. That girl, Rosette, is always by his side and if I'm not mistaken, has calmed him down when he lost his temper a lot of times in the past and it's because he's in love with her. Hm…I think he would be lost in fury if Sarin _took_ Rosette away from him,"

Aion rolled his eyes, "Whatever," he muttered as he turned and began walking down the dark streets of Charleston, South Carolina. "Come on, Shader. We need to find a place to stay,"

Shader hung over in defeat, her cat ears twitching, "Guess you're right…"

"Of course I am,"

-

Rosette looked at Chrno, her blue eyes wide, "No," she said, "don't tell them yet…just wait, okay?" she begged. Rosette knew it was going to be hard to tell them and she didn't want him under anymore stress than he had to be.

Chrno blinked, standing up for a moment, touching Rosette's shoulder, "But Rosette. They have as much right as you did to know,"

Rosette narrowed her eyes, "No! I forced it out of you, but they can wait. Tell them later, tomorrow maybe, you need some sleep anyway,"

Chrno yawned, only proving what Rosette said was true, as he sat down in the train. "Ugh…I stayed up too late…" he grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah! You were too busy making out with Rosette!" Stella teased, laughing.

"HEY! Shut UP!" Rosette yelled, jumping from her seat-she had sat down with Chrno-her face red.

Chrno sweat dropped, muttering, "She's never gonna let me live this down…"

"That's right!" Stella and Amy voiced at the same time, grinning.

Everyone looked towards Amy. "You were awake TOO?" Rosette snarled, rolling her sleeve.

"N-No! It's just fun to bug you!" Amy added in, grinning. "So, did ya like it? Did ya wish you were in bed and not the-"

"AMY! You've been hanging around the Elder WAY too much!" Rosette yelled, hitting Amy continuously over the head, yelling non-understandable words.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay Rosette! I get it!" Amy shouted, trying in vain to get away from the angry nun, who was considerably red in the face. Rosette didn't stop as she yelled, "You don't know what I want!" Mistake…

"Oh so you _did_ want to-OW!" Amy screamed as Rosette bashed her in the head with all of her strength.

"SHUT UP!"

"Oy…" Chrno groaned from where he was sitting next to the window. His red eyes glanced over at Rosette, but he didn't even bother to stop her from beating up Amy. Someone else needed to get beat up by her besides him…

-

Hours later, night had fallen and the train had stopped several times. Chrno was leaning against the window, sleeping peacefully. Rosette was eating some supper with the others, talking about random things. That was when Amy suddenly asked, "Hey, Rosette, what was Chrno going to say to us when we first got on the train?"

Rosette blinked, stiffening. She couldn't tell them. It wasn't her place. Glancing over at Chrno, she narrowed her eyes, and then closed them, sighing. "It's not my place to say. Let him tell you tomorrow,"

"Come on, Rosette! Please? Tell us!" Amy begged, "I wanna know!"

Rosette only shook her head stubbornly. "Can you at least tell us what it was about?" Joshua asked, looking at his sister, a gentle smile on his lips.

Rosette nearly groaned. Joshua knew that she didn't keep things from him! _'Damn it!' _ she swore mentally as she opened her mouth to speak, "Well…it was about a few things…a lot of things. But I still can't say what exactly. Just about the Sinners and…a few other things."

"_What _other things?" Joshua bugged. "Anything I need to know about?"

"NO!" Rosette yelped, her blue eyes narrowing.

"Aww, they're in _love_! If I recall, Rosette was all: _I can tell you now. Chrno, I love you too. And I've clung to that when I all but gave up. _ And Chrno was all: _I did too. _How sw_ee_t! _Lieben!_" the jewel witch said the last word in German, her brown eyes glowing.

"STELLA! SHIUT UP!" Rosette yelled, diving towards the older woman and covering her mouth with her hand. Stella struggled against Rosette's grip.

"R-Rosette! Let go of me!" Stella yelled, shoving Rosette away. The young nun stumbled backwards, tripping over someone's foot and falling right into Chrno. The demon awoke with a start, looking around, and when he saw Rosette, a death glare on her face, sprawled in his lap, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

"About to kill a certain witch if she doesn't close her damn mouth!" Rosette snapped, leaping up and about to attack Stella again, but Chrno grabbed her and pulled her back, his red eyes narrowed. The demon felt Rosette trying to jerk out of his grip, so he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap.

"_Calm down!_" he snapped, feeling frustrated after being awoken from his dreams. And they had been good dreams too!

"B-But!" Rosette argued, "She wouldn't sh-"

"Rosette! Just stop arguing with me and tell me what the hell made you get into another fight with Stella? In a place as small as this?" he growled, looking over at the jewel witch, one eyebrow raised.

"Would you _stop_ talking like that?" Rosette suddenly yelled, yanking with all of her strength to get out of Chrno's arms and turning to face him. "Stop telling me to calm down and demanding to know what I've done! You're starting to sound just like _him_ if you ask me!" there was fury in her eyes.

Chrno's red eyes widened in horror, and then, a terribly sad expression crossed his features. He looked away, looking out the window and into the night, where a storm was brewing in the distance. Lightning flashed some miles away. Then suddenly, he stood up, shoving past Rosette, growling, "I thought you wouldn't judge me for that," and then he opened the compartment door and slammed it behind him, shattering the glass.

As he walked, his form changed as he became his true form. He didn't care if someone saw him. Chrno walked down the train, through each individual car until he reached the very end. Once he had, he opened the door where the very end of the train was, a metal platform surrounded by a metal fence. It was where they loaded in the baggage.

Chrno dropped, leaning against the cold metal, staring up at the darkening sky. The lightning flashed and thunder roared. Rain began to fall from the sky, splattering against the cold metal and Chrno. The demon didn't even notice it as he curled up, feeling terribly hurt by Rosette's words. He kept his eyes on the sky, muttering, "Why has my life taken such a horrid turn? Is this the punishment for my sins…Mary?"

-

Rosette stared at the door, staring more specifically at the fading figure of Chrno. She suddenly felt sick, very sick and weak. What had she just done? What had she just said? Why did she just say it? It was the wrong thing to say to Chrno. It was mean and uncalled for. And worst of all, Chrno had been hurt. "I…oh no…" she mumbled as she raced out the door after him. Everyone was staring at her in shock. They had never believed Rosette could ever upset Chrno in such a way.

-

Chrno looked down from the sky, thinking. _'Does Rosette really see Sarin in me? Does she really think I act like him?'_ he asked himself. _'But I thought she said she wouldn't compare me to him…So why did she?_'

The rain was pouring at full force now, soaking Chrno, but still, the demon ignored it. He was too lost in his own thoughts to feel the stinging of the freezing raindrops. The only thing that he was really aware of, was that the metal door had just opened. At the sound of it, he looked up, not really seeing the person standing there until she spoke. "Chrno?" Rosette called, walking over to him.

She crouched down next to him, looking him in the face, "I'm sorry. I wasn't really thinking. You're nothing like your father. Please forgive me," she begged, her blue eyes pleading with him.

Chrno blinked, not sure what to really say. He felt horrible on the inside, but he could see it in Rosette's eyes. She was hurt too, by her own words and how she had hurt him. He sighed, wiping rain out of his eyes as he responded, "Yeah…You were just mad…I forgive you, Rosette…I shouldn't have said what I had either…It's just that I don't really know how to handle this. I-I didn't tell you everything that was on that letter, Rosette, and maybe, if I had, this never would have happened."

Rosette stared at Chrno in surprise. For one, she hadn't expected this to be so easy. For another, she hadn't guessed that Chrno hadn't told her everything. "Wh-What?" she couldn't help but ask. "Wh-What else was on that piece of paper?" Did she really want to know?

Chrno sighed, reaching out for her, "Rosette, you're going to get wet out here and then you're going to get sick," he said, his hand resting on hers. "Let's go inside for now…I don't want you to fall ill,"

'_Grr…He changed the subject!-Again!_' Rosette grumbled in her mind, but said nothing. Too bad for her…Chrno heard that…He let out a halfhearted chuckle and said, "I'll show you later, if you want, though it's not pleasant." he promised her as he stood, pulling her up with him.

"I'm sure I can handle it," Rosette reassured as Chrno pulled open the metal door, walking inside and out of the rain. He released her hand and backed away, shaking the rainwater out of his hair. Rosette was, even still, splattered with it although Chrno had moved away from her. She held up her hands, snapping, "Hey, Chrno! You're not a dog!"

Chrno laughed, wiping the rest of the water from his face as he replied, "Yeah, yeah. I know that." he smiled at her, glad that they had forgiven one another. It was better that way. Finally, he shivered from the cold, but forced himself to ignore it as he looked over at Rosette. "I guess…I'll give you that letter tomorrow, then. When it isn't raining. It's too gloomy at the moment…I wouldn't want it to be any gloomier and ruin the whole train ride," he said in a joking manner as he stepped back over to her.

Chrno put his arm around her shoulders as he began walking back towards the compartment. "We probably need to change clothes…you're soaked and my Sister outfit doesn't dry so swell…" Rosette mumbled, looking down at herself. She was also wet, but no where near as wet as Chrno.

"I'll manage," he responded lightly, "After all, I don't have anything to change into…And besides, I don't really feel the cold…"

"Well you know why? It's because you're getting sick! The rain is going to make you sick!" Rosette persisted.

Chrno looked at her, smirking, "You do know demons can't get sick, right?" he asked.

Rosette glared at him, saying playfully, "I bet cha you will! Anyone can get sick!"

"We'll see," he told her lightly as they came up to their compartment. His arm dropped from her shoulders as they reached it.

-

Stella blinked as she heard Rosette and Chrno's voices, "Well, I guess they kissed and made up,"

Amy blinked, "Hmmm…how would you know?"

"Know what?" Stella asked blankly.

"If they kissed?"

"It's an expression!" Stella laughed, "Besides, I wouldn't know-I've been sitting here the whole time. Unlike _someone_ over here," she pointedly looked over at Joshua, who had, not unexpectantly, gotten up and had snuck after the two. _'Hmm…I'll have to ask him what he heard later…'_ Stella thought as the door slid open.

Chrno and Rosette came inside, looking at everyone. They were all staring at the door-looking as innocent as ever. Something very fishy was going on… "Okay, what is it?" Chrno finally asked, looking at each and everyone of them. "Why are you all staring at us as if we were two bozos?"

"Well," Amy replied instantly, "for one, you are a couple of bozos, and another things is that you're-OW! Rosette! Why I oughta!" Rosette had just hit Amy, grumbling, "We are not bozos!" and then scrambling away as Amy dove for her, bent on getting revenge.

Chrno rolled his eyes, quickly getting out of the way before he became part of a much unwanted cat-fight. He moved away from them, pressed up against the cold metal wall. _'Damn wet clothes,'_ he thought, feeling the chill settle in. _'Damn rain…'_

Amy tripped Rosette, snarling with rage as she hit the older woman over the head. _'Damn women and their unnecessary cat-fights…'_

Rosette fought back, kicking Amy in the shin and shoving the girl off while yanking her long, brown hair. Amy shrieked in pain and tried to claw at Rosette's eyes, but Rosette seemed to be stronger than the younger nun as she scrambled away and towards the back of the compartment. There, she straightened up, ready to fight some more, but suddenly, she found herself looking into the barrel of a gun.

_A/N: This chapter was getting a little long so I thought I'd stop it. Heh-heh. And to leave you in suspense. Oh well. Heh-heh. Anyway, I seem to be in a bit of a 'fluff' mood…oh well. Anyway-again, my Ipod's charged and I was listening to 'So Far Away' by Staind, so this chapter wasn't so bad. Although I did listen to a couple of other rather depressing songs…ah well! _

_And I've been watching Full Metal Alchemist. I Love that show! –Yes I meant to capitalize that. I watching the one where that little girl Nina got killed by Scar-you know, Tucker's four-year old daughter. How SAD! And then I watched some more. One of them was called 'Mother', talking about their past and whatnot…Oh well. _

_I gotta go-bye! _

_R&R_

_PS: Just so you know…I typed chapters 12-16 this week, but I couldn't update. Sorry. So far all of this is 29 pages long. Heh-heh. But the whole story is somewhere around 60-70 pages. Bye! Next Chapter-The Truth_


	17. The Truth

**17. The Truth**

**Red eyes flashed just briefly in the shadows. The sound of thunder was all around, deafening. It was dark, pitch black. Rain poured from the heavens, icy and heavy. It deafened the roar of a train. **

**Lightning flashed, illuminating a large figure. A tattered looking cape was flowing with the wind, pulling tightly against the figure's throat. Red eyes were narrowed. Pale skin was slick with the cold rain. Fangs were bared, an inhuman growl coming from the figure. Long, deadly claws dug into the metal of the train.**

"_**I will not lose you,"**_** the demon growled, looking up at the sky. He could hear someone talking…near the end of the train…**

-

Amy glared harshly at Rosette, her eyes narrowed into furious slits. The gun was pointed straight between Rosette's eyes, Amy's finger curled threateningly around the trigger. "What are you doing?" Chrno yelled out, a flash of terror passing through him for a moment as he realized Rosette was being threatened with her life.

Amy grinned, removing the gun and turning to face Chrno, "It's not loaded," she promised, pointing it towards the ceiling and pulling the trigger. Nothing but a sharp click. "See? I just didn't want to get into a fight, is all," she said, wiping blood from her lip.

But before Amy could move again, she found herself facing both Chrno _and_ Joshua. Joshua glared at Amy, his eyes narrowed in furious slits, "Don't you point a gun at Rosette!" he snarled, his fingers curled into fists.

Meanwhile Rosette was looking at Amy with a look of surprise, but she overcame it quickly. She straightened up from where she had fallen against the window. Shivering from her wet clothes, she looked over at Chrno and Joshua. "Guys, leave her be, okay?" she asked them.

Joshua and Chrno turned to look at her with baffled expressions. "But Rosette-" Joshua began.

"No," Rosette replied firmly, "the gun wasn't loaded. Amy just did that to get out of the fight because she knows I wouldn't give up unless someone stopped me. Hmm…Just drop it,"

The nun sighed as she dropped into her seat, looking at her hands. She was a little shaky from the threat of being shot, but the least she could have done for Amy, whether the girl deserved it or not, was get her out of trouble. Rosette knew Joshua and Chrno could get fiery over things like that…They didn't need the stress, but it seemed, for Rosette, as if the world's stress was on her shoulders.

A few seconds later, Chrno sat down beside her, his appearance changing from his true form to his adult human form. He didn't say anything to Rosette as he looked at her for a few seconds. He seemed to be trying to decide something. In the few moments of Chrno's thinking, Amy and Joshua sat down again. Joshua took his place, as usual, beside Azmaria, and Amy next to Rosette.

It continued to storm harshly, lightning illuminating the already lighted compartment. Chrno sighed heavily, making Rosette turn to look at it. He was digging in his pocket for something. She stared at him for a few moments, wondering faintly if he was going to take out the piece of paper that Aion had written. When he withdrew his hand from his pocket, sure enough, the piece of paper was there.

His red eyes met her wide blue ones. His maroon ones were stern, as was his voice when he spoke, "Rosette, I've decided to let you read this today-no sense in ruining tomorrow-but, as I said when we got back just now-you need to get out of those wet clothes before you get sick!"

Rosette suddenly grinned at the comment, "Darn, I was hoping you'd forget," she joked. "And what about you? You're going to get sick too! You're soaked to the bone!"

Chrno closed his eyes for a second, a small grin on his face, "I've already told you that demons don't get sick," Chrno stood up, grabbing Joshua, saying, "Okay, let Rosette change into some dry clothes. You can't stay,"

Chrno dragged Joshua out of the compartment and shut the compartment door behind him. As they waited for Rosette to change, Joshua looked at Chrno, "Hey, what's on that piece of paper?" he asked, looking at it as Chrno crushed it in his hand.

"It's…nothing," Chrno lied, looking away. "Nothing that concerns you, that is,"

Joshua glowered at Chrno, but before he could try and get anything else out of Chrno, the door opened. Rosette was sitting down, now wearing just a regular blue T-shirt with dark blue jeans. Her hair was down and made her look a little different. Chrno blinked and walked inside. At least she had made herself less obvious to everyone around them…

Chrno sat down beside her and handed her the letter. Rosette took it, carefully working it out of the crushed position Chrno had left it in when talking to Joshua. Once it was completely able to be read, Rosette held it for a few seconds. Everyone was watching them, wondering what could possibly be on the paper. Still holding it, but not reading it, Rosette looked at Chrno, "Do you really want me to read this, Chrno?"

"If you insist…" Chrno said quietly, "You already know I'd prefer you not to read it, but I'm not going to keep anything from you…not this time. Read it," he told her, meeting her gaze for a second before looking away.

Rosette sighed and nodded. She ignored everyone else around her as she began reading the tiny scrawl of Aion's handwriting. As she read each line, a look of horror was in her blue eyes, but even so, she continued to read. When she had finished, her hands were shaking, her face pale. Slowly, she turned her head to look at Chrno. "I-I…We have to kill him…we just have to…" she finally said, unable to say anything else.

Chrno nodded, "I know. Rosette? Are you all right?" he asked, looking at her with worriment as she handed the paper back.

"I-I'm fine. Dunno what you're talking about," she replied, her voice shaky.

"You're not fooling anyone, Rosette. You see? That's why I wouldn't let you read it. That's why I-Rosette?" Chrno cut off as he saw Rosette had fallen towards him, wrapping her arms around him, sobbing. "Rosette, it's all right…" he tried to calm the girl down.

"Rosette? What's the matter?" Joshua asked, standing up and walking over to his sister, bending down, resting a comforting arm on her back.

Rosette ignored her younger brother as she looked at Chrno, "If that letter is true…and what happened yesterday…he-he almost got what he wanted…" she sobbed, her arms tightening around Chrno.

"…But I won't let him. Not while I'm here." he promised her, his finger running in her hair as she sobbed. "And as for Aion…we have to find him now. We don't have a choice. That's why we're going to South Carolina. To find my brother and get his help. Without him, we can't even hurt Sarin."

Joshua stared at his sister with worried eyes, but he was also a little confused. Looking up at Chrno, he spoke in a grave tone, "I think it's time you told us what you were going to earlier,"

Chrno nodded, "I guess you're right. No sense in leaving you in the dark." The demon looked down at Rosette and then back at the others. "Before I begin-just promise me you won't interrupt." Everyone gave a silent nod, their eyes fixed on Chrno and Rosette. "Okay then."

Chrno sighed, his arms tightening around Rosette, who had stopped sobbing and was now trembling in his arms. He pulled her up closer to him as he began, "Well, as I believe you all know, long ago the demon, Sarin the Sinner, was the leader of the Sinners. We Sinners don't remember him like Aion does. But Aion did that, I think, to protect us. And more than likely me. We did, at one time, consider ourselves brothers and were the best of friends and so he saved me from a fate that I could not foresee.

"Well, just a couple of days ago, as you know, Sarin tried to kidnap Rosette," Chrno could feel Rosette's arms tightening around his chest as she buried her head into his chest, obviously not wanting to remember what had happened after what she had just learned. "When he did, Rosette had taken a piece of paper from him. On that piece of paper was a message from Aion to Shader.

"I read it last night and Rosette woke up. She noticed I had it and was wanting to know what it said. At first, I wouldn't tell her, but after a bit of arguing, I finally did. Well, I told her part of it.

"The letter said that Sarin the Sinner is mine and Aion's father. I was rather shocked at that part, but I forced myself to get over it. I read the rest of it and…and it was about a few things dealing with my mother and the Sinners and…" Chrno cut off for a moment, closing his eyes, unable to take their horrified stares. He threw his head back and breathing, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling, "…Rosette."

Joshua glared at Chrno, "What'd it say about my sister?" he demanded.

Chrno felt Rosette stiffen in his arms as she looked up and turned to Joshua and the others, her eyes red from crying. "I-It said that Sarin wants me…wants me to-to be his-" but the young woman found herself unable to finish as she turned away from everyone, shaking her head.

'_Poor Rosette…she's so scared.'_ Chrno thought, _'And she's crying…please, stop crying…don't be afraid. I'll protect you,'_ he told her silently, wishing with all his heart that she would calm down and not being to scared.

"He wants her to be his 'wife'-if that's how you want to put it." Chrno finished for Rosette, holding her closer. "That's why he kidnapped her." his voice was grim Chrno looked back down at Rosette and said, "But we're _all_ going to protect you, aren't we?" Now Chrno turned his eyes up towards everyone else.

"Yeah! We're not going to let some sicko like Sarin get near you!" Stella growled, her voice full of what sounded like confidence. As if she believed she could take Sarin on single-handedly.

"Yeah, we'll protect you from him." Azmaria said, her eyes sympathetic.

"I'm not letting a monster like that get near my sister." Joshua told Rosette as he removed his hand from her back and went to sit down next to Azmaria once more, his blue eyes steely.

"Yeah, we'll keep you safe," Amy said, looking away from the others, but no one noticed.

"See?" Chrno told Rosette, "You're fine with us here."

-

**A low growl sounded as the demon came towards the end of the train. No one was there. He was too late. They had already left. Growling, he looked up at the cloudy sky where rain continued to fall. "_You can't escape me…"_**

_A/N: Hey guys! Did you like this chapter? I know, it's a little short, but you'll get over it. Darn! I have to go back to school in four days! Oh well…that means updates for you. –Just so you know, I've been typing all of these chapters all the way from chapter 12, and I can't update because I don't have the internet where I'm at…too bad for us. I really wanna update!_

_/sighs/ Oh well. Anyway, I know Aion wasn't in this chapter, but that's only because the train ride is almost over. Well, I gotta go write the next chapter! –Please review!_

_Next Chapter- 18. Old Friends_


	18. NOTE!

Hey. It's me! Okay, i know I haven't updated on this but I promise I will ASAP!! I will get to work on it first thing tomorrow!! People seem to like it so...yes...I shall work on it!!


	19. Another sad note!

**_Okay so, I know I promised an update on A Demon's Spirit, but my floppy drive isn't working right...you see, my computer is really old (1998) and the drive on the newer computer that has internet (this one) won't read my floppy disks and I have no idea why. It my be a while until i can update. I have to find a working floppy. Sorry!!_**


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